The Legend of Zelda: Land of My Dreams
by Rougue
Summary: A young man from Earth is transported to the land of Hyrule in order to fulfill a prophesy and save the land from a familiar enemy. He'll end up finding more than action and adventure, though.
1. Prologue: In My Dreams

**THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LAND OF MY DREAMS**

**By Rougue**

(Part One of Rougue's **The Legend of Zelda: Orizon Saga** Trilogy)

DISCLAIMER:

The Legend of Zelda games are a trademark of Nintendo. All rights reserved and all that junk.

The characters Impa, Princess Zelda, Ganondorf/Ganon, Link (the Hylian), Din, Nayru, Farore, the Great Deku Tree, Saria, Gohma, Darnuia, Link (the Goron), King Zora XVI, Princess Ruto, Volvagia, Morpha, Malon, Ingo, Epona, Talon, Queen Nabooru, Vaati (the Wind Mage from _The Minish Cap_ and _Four Swords Adventure_), Agahnim (from _A Link to the Past_), Twinrova/Koume and Kotake, Sheik, Princess Zelda (from _Adventures of Link_), Queen Ruleta (from _Twilight Princess_), Rusl (from _Twilight Princess_), Bo (from _Twilight Princess_), Uli (from _Twilight Princess_), Darbus (from _Twilight Princess_), and Cor Goron (from _Twilight Princess_) are owned by Nintendo. Again, all rights reserved and the rest of that. The characters listed above come from _The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_ unless otherwise noted. All other characters are/were real people or my own creations. You may use my characters as you like in your stories, as long as you tell people about my works if they ask where you got those characters from.

In other words, please don't sue me! This is just for fun and enjoyment, not for money. And think about it for a moment. What we writers and storytellers do here at this website is really free advertising for the original products. Cue the patriotic music! Some call this copyright infringement, but I call it free advertisement. Many of us could be writing original stories fairly easily (I am actually working on one right now), but we feel so drawn to an original masterpiece that we have to use its characters and settings, not for profit, but to share that masterpiece with the world. So to all those out there who hate us fan fiction writers, remember that someday, you may create a masterpiece, but no one will know of it until someone else sees it and writes a fan fiction story about it and posts it here on this website. And then others will read that story and purchase your masterpiece. And then it will bloom into a smash hit, thanks in part to the free advertising that comes from fan fiction writers. So next time you read a fan fiction story, remember that we put our blood, sweat, and tears (well, maybe not the blood) into these labors out of the love in our hearts. Thank you.

So, now that my point has been made, and my attempts to avoid a lawsuit made clear, please enjoy the show everyone!

**Prologue: In My Dreams . . . **

Jonathan Nichols walked through what seemed to be a never-ending forest. He was surrounded by trees on every side of him, as tall as they were beautiful, their green-leaf canopies obviously untouched by human hands. They almost completely blocked out the light from the sun, but some light did get through the leaves and made it to the ground, where the green grass grew limited in height by the very few individuals who walked around here and, more than that, by the strength of each individual blade of grass. Jonathan could see through the canopies of leaves that the sky was perfectly blue, with some occasional clouds of white which strayed across the sky. Because of the large amount of moisture trapped underneath the canopies, the air was constantly humid. To Jonathan, this place was paradise; untouched by human works, it was a quiet place. And Jonathan usually liked quiet places.

Jonathan, wearing a green tunic and, underneath that, a tight, white, one-piece undergarment of sorts, had never been to this place before, yet he walked through the trees as if he knew exactly where he was going. He squeezed through two closely-placed ones, both of which were at least 100 feet tall. He continued to stare around him at the nature that surrounded him. He saw butterflies more beautiful and bigger than any he had ever seen before. He continued forward through the plants. Then, he found an area where the trees thinned out into a meadow, where the sunlight reached the grass without having to filter through the trees. In front of him, Jonathan saw a large tree that had fallen, blocking his way further into the meadow. He climbed over the thick brown trunk.

And there she was. Jonathan saw a young woman with her back turned to him. She had long, flowing blonde hair and was wearing purple and pink robes made of silk. Jonathan stood still and stared at her, transfixed. Then, he began walking toward her slowly. When he had walked halfway toward her, she began to turn around. Jonathan stopped where he was as she did so. The woman's face was so beautiful to Jonathan. Her face and skin tone were lovely, but Jonathan found her eyes amazing. This young woman had eyes of purple. Almost an unearthly shade of purple. She looked at Jonathan longingly. Jonathan started walking toward her again, passion building in his heart. When he reached her, Jonathan stopped. Then the two embraced each other and Jonathan felt a feeling of pure bliss. Jonathan and the woman looked into each other's eyes for a moment that seemed to last forever. Then, both of them closed their eyes and their lips met in a kiss of love and passion. Jonathan felt a feeling he had never felt before. But suddenly, it all ended into a blur that transformed into an even shade of black. Everything had disappeared.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, here it is. I've been working on this story on-and-off for a few years now, so some of the early chapters aren't as good as the later chapters will be. Oh, and the next chapter won't seem very Zelda-like, but bear with me here. This story is a good one, I think.

By the way, I have said this already in my profile, but I consider myself to be a lousy writer, but a good storyteller. You'll notice that I tend to leave quite a bit of detail to the readers, especially with battle scenes. That's just the way I write.

This story currently has a T rating, but I'm concerned that some later content could warrant an M rating. For that reason, I'll warn you guys about any objectionable content ahead of time in the author's notes.

I'll be posting a new chapter every Friday at noon, so keep coming back regularly to see how this story plays out. Read and review, I suppose, and tell me how I could improve my writing. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 1: Jonathan's Old Life and New D

Author's Notes: Well, this story is off to a rather slow start. Oh well, I'm sure it will get more attention soon enough. My personal thanks go out to the two people who actually reviewed my story so far.

Ninjachick93: Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it.

xakattak: I also thank you for your support. However, I'm not familiar with the term "flake" in the contet you gave it in your review. Could you please explain what you meant?

My apologies have to be extended to all of the Zelda fanatics right now, as this chapter has nothing to do with Zelda. But stick with me here; you'll be seeing more of Hyrule soon enough.

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**Chapter 1: Jonathan's Old Life and New Dreams**

Jonathan Nichols woke up in his bed in his apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire. He felt depressed as the reality of his situation set in. "It was just another dream," Jonathan quietly said to himself. He looked up at the calendar on the wall next to his bed. Beside it was a photo of New England Patriots QB Steve Grogan throwing the first and only touchdown pass for the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, an eight yard pass to Irving Fryar. Jonathan remembered watching that game in January of 1986 as the Patriots were absolutely slaughtered by the Chicago Bears, a team which Jonathan had and still regarded as a bunch of punks, in a 46-10 rout. The calendar showed the month of January in the year of 1992. _January 14,_ Jonathan thought, _Almost Super Bowl time._

This time, however, the Pats were nowhere in sight of the playoffs this NFL season. Now, it would either be the Denver Broncos or reigning AFC champion Buffalo Bills (Jonathan still cringed at remembering the last play of Super Bowl XXV, as Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt missed it's mark by a few yards, giving the New York Giants a 20-19 squeaker victory over the Bills) going up against either the Detroit Lions or the Washington Redskins. Jonathan didn't know who was going to make it, but he would be cheering for the AFC, which hadn't won a Super Bowl since 1984, when the Los Angeles Raiders annihilated the reigning Super Bowl-champion Washington Redskins 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII. Since then, the AFC had lost seven consecutive Super Bowls.

Jonathan slowly got out of bed on the morning of Wednesday, January 15, 1992, a day that started out like any other winter day in Manchester, NH and just like any other day for Jonathan Nichols. Jonathan Walker Nichols, Jr. was born on January 2, 1970 in Burbank Hospital in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was the son of Jonathan Walker Nichols, Sr., a member of the Fitchburg city council, and Megan Ellens-Nichols, a teacher of English at Fitchburg High School. Jonathan had a good childhood and went to Southern New Hampshire University to further study his life's passion, sports casting. He now had a ticket to Minneapolis, Minnesota to see Super Bowl XXVI, courtesy of_ The Union Leader_ of Manchester, New Hampshire's only daily newspaper. At barely 22, he knew more about NFL history and the NFL then almost everyone on _The Union Leader_'s sports staff. He was actually thinking about moving to Boston soon to try to get on the sports staff of the _Boston Globe_ or the _Boston Herald_, where he would get a lot more recognition and a much higher salary.

But right now, Jonathan had a splitting headache. And Jonathan had no idea why he had one. _I wasn't drinking last night,_ he thought to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror in his bathroom. He looked like a wreck, which surprised him greatly. His middle-length greasy black hair was all over the place. His brown eyes looked sort of bloodshot. He looked tired as hell, although he didn't feel all that tired. At 5-feet, 10-inches tall and weighing around 190 lbs., he didn't look that remarkable. He turned on the cold water spigot in his sink, cupped his hands so that he could catch some of the cold water in his hands, and then splashed the water on his face. Now he felt very awake, but he still looked tired in the mirror. His eyelids seemed ready to close at any moment. Jonathan looked back at his alarm clock (which had been off because Jonathan did not need to get to work today; nothing new was going on in the NFL world... yet). _7:45,_ Jonathan thought,_ I got to sleep at 11:00 last night. I should feel great._ He decided to take a shower when his phone rang. Jonathan walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he asked.

"Jonathan? Are you okay, kid?" Jonathan heard a familiar voice on the other end of the receiver.

"Oh, Mr. Terence," Jonathan said, surprised that his boss was on the line, "Good morning. I've just got a headache."

"Drinking last night?" Mr. Terence asked.

"Actually, no. I have no idea why I have this headache," Jonathan answered.

"You're still up to going to the Super Bowl, right?" Mr. Terence asked.

By now, Jonathan had a sinking feeling in his stomach about going to Super Bowl XXVI. "If you want the truth, I don't think I'm up for it anymore," Jonathan answered.

"You sure, kid?" Mr. Terence asked after a moment of delay, certainly caused by surprise.

"Yeah," Jonathan answered, "Give my ticket to Bob; he can cover it for me."

"Just bring your ticket by the office today," Mr. Terence said.

"I will," Jonathan answered as he hung up the phone. Then he took off his clothes and got in the shower.

_----------_

_Why did I say that,_ Jonathan thought to himself in the shower, _Why am I even THINKING about not going on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Super Bowl? I really don't feel like going anymore, but why?_ Then Jonathan realized something. _My losing interest in this started seven days ago... nights, to be exact. With those dreams._

Seven nights ago, Jonathan had one of the strangest dreams he ever had. He dreamed that he was on a wide open field of grass that he swore he had never seen before in his life. It stretched around him and seemed to almost go on forever. In the distance to the east, he saw a strange, steep mountain with a surreal halo of clouds circling around near the summit. He also saw a stream running to north, into a walled area behind which Jonathan could see a grand castle. To his south, he saw what appeared to be a small ranch. He now walked to the south, around that ranch. To the west he saw a large lake of crystal clear water and to the east, a wooden tunnel that led to somewhere. Then, Jonathan saw the figure of a young woman standing before him, about 20 feet away, with her back turned. Then the dream ended.

Since then, Jonathan had one of these strange dreams every night. On that steep mountain, in that castle, in that ranch, near that lake, approaching a temple from a scorching desert, and then the forest last night. Every dream had that same young woman in the dream. Every time, Jonathan got closer to the woman. Now he had held her in his arms as if they had known each other forever. "What does it all mean?" Jonathan asked himself as he turned off the water. He got out of the shower, dried himself off, shaved, then dressed himself in some blue jeans, a short-sleeved shirt and his Patriots winter coat, grabbed his car keys and left his apartment.

Although he couldn't have known it then, it would be the last time Jonathan would ever leave that building.

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Jonathan pulled his blue 1987 Ford F-150 truck into the staff parking lot of_ The Union Leader_ and got out of the truck with an envelope in his hand. He walked inside the rather small building. Jonathan looked to his right just after entering the building and saw the most famous (or, in Jonathan's mind, infamous) front page_ The Union Leader_ ever had. February 24, 1972 and the "Cannocks" letter, a false letter in which U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME) was said to have made derogatory comments about French-Canadians while down in Florida. After Sen. Muskie's break-down while denying the accusations, his chances for beating Pres. Nixon went out the window. The American people now knew that the Nixon White House was behind the "Cannocks" letter as part of Nixon's dirty tricks that ended up giving left-wing nutcase Sen. George McGovern (D-MN) the Democratic Party nomination for President. Nixon ended up absolutely killing McGovern on Election Day; McGovern's only electoral votes came from Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. Jonathan just had to laugh looking at that front page. _Pat Buchanan, you really know how to screw a politician,_ Jonathan thought in his head as he left that newspaper behind and went to his boss' desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Terence," Jonathan said as he put the envelope on Mr. Terence's desk.

"Geez, Jonathan, you do look awful," Mr. Terence said as he opened up the envelope and pulled out two plane tickets (one to Minneapolis from Boston and one the other way around), a press ticket to Super Bowl XXVI (which would have allowed Jonathan to get behind the scenes at the Super Bowl), and $150 in cash. "Nothing appears to be missing," Mr. Terence said as he put the items back in the envelope.

"You know I would never try to steal from you, Mr. Terence," Jonathan said.

Mr. Terence laughed. "I'm just playing with you, kid. Now get some sleep. You look like you got crocked last night."

Jonathan laughed a little. _Who uses the word "crocked"?_ he thought to himself. "I wasn't drinking last night, Mr. Terence," Jonathan remarked as he turned around and went out of the building and got back into his truck. He started the engine and then started to go back to his apartment.

Jonathan would soon learn that this day, January 14, 1992, would truly be the first day of the rest of his life. The first day of a new existence for him and for many others that Jonathan had never met yet, and for many others yet to be born. And all of it was connected with his dreams.

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Author's Notes: Yes, I know there is a lot of nonsense in this chapter. But trust me, it will get more interesting starting with the very next chapter. And remember, I live in New England, and I'm a big fan of the New England Patriots and a gridiron football fan in general. This chapter also shows how Jonathan can call up random and seemingly useless things almost instantly in his head to form a coherent argument, like a good sports reporter can do. And in case you are curious, the Patriots finished the 1991-92 NFL season with a 6-10 record and there would soon be talk of the team moving to St. Louis. Of course, after the 1-15 disaster that was the 1990-91 season, the 6-10 record was a definite improvement. Of course, things would eventually change in New England's favor.

Alright, so review and give me some tips. And get ready for more next Friday!


	3. Chapter 2: The Woman from My Dreams

Author's Notes: Wow, the way a second chapter makes the story so much more popular. It took a whole week to get two reviews for the prologue, and I get three reviews for the first chapter in less than six hours. How does that work? Thanks to those who reviewed my work.

Twilight Being92: I never said that I thought the 1985 Chicago Bears were a bunch of punks (although I do say that Jim McMahon was definitely a punk). Jonathan thinks that way. I mean, if the Bears had lost that Super Bowl 46-10 to the Patriots, how would you feel about my team? It doesn't matter anymore, though, as we both have our championships now. But McMahon was still a punk. Thank you for the encouragement.

Ninjachick93: My first repeat reviewer, thank you for your continued encouragement. But no amount of exhortion will speed the posting process; a new chapter goes up every Friday by 1:00 PM Eastern Time, acts of God not being taken into account.

Bamber of Daggerspine: Thank you for your interest in my story. The writing quality will get better; remember that these early chapters were originally written years ago by me. In fact, you'll probably notice some sort of change in my writing technique eventually.

xakattak: Thanks for explaining what you meant by "flake" and for your continued support.

By the way guys, don't be afraid to say something bad about my writing, as long as you tell me what I need to improve upon. Other than that, it's time to return to the story.

**Chapter 2: The Woman from My Dreams**

Meanwhile, in a land totally alien to Earth, four individuals were watching Jonathan through a special magic sphere that let them watch Jonathan constantly for the past week. One of the four was a middle-aged man, wearing something resembling a black uniform. It was a black, long-sleeved, tightfitting shirt with black tights. He was also wearing black shoes, which would have been polished under normal circumstances. On his shoulders were gold-colored pads. His light-brown eyes looked at Jonathan intently while he scratched his head through his short brown hair with his right hand. His skin was very tan, a sign that he had spent a lot of time in the sunlight at one time. His face was rather narrow and very hard-looking, and made him look like a man you should not cross lightly. At about 6-feet, 2-inches tall, the feature that was most strikingly different between him and Jonathan was his long, pointed ears, which ended in a point at the tops and measured about five inches long and were pointed upward at a 45-degree angle.

The second individual was the oldest of the four, without a doubt. He had a long white beard and was totally bald. He could barely stand up straight, and even when he could do that, he only measured 5-feet, 5-inches tall. He was holding a wooden staff in his right hand, which he mainly used as a walking stick. He was wearing dark blue robes over his very thin, seemingly frail body. He had very deep wrinkles in his forehead and near his mouth and chin, and had very visible crow's feet around his eyes, all of them an indication of his very old age. His skin was a very pale color, but his eyes were vividly sky blue.

There was also a tall, middle-aged woman who was standing near the sphere. She was 6-feet, 1-inch tall and she was rather muscular. She was wearing a white skin-tight shirt with short sleeves, which showed about half of her decent-sized breasts, and tightfitting blue pants. These tight clothes made her muscles seem bigger than they actually were, but she would have been able to kill any average man that came at her. She had long purple-white hair and had eyes with the color of blood-red. Her ears were also long and pointed, but her ears were especially long (about 10 inches long) and were almost parallel to the ground. She also had three steel rings pierced through the bottom half of each ear. Her skin was a bit paler than the first man's skin, but was still rather tanned.

The fourth individual was a very beautiful young woman. At 5-feet, 7-inches, she was wearing beautiful silk robes of purple, pink and white from her neck down to her feet. Her skin tone was fairly pale and her features looked about as delicate as a piece of china. She had long, flowing, naturally blonde hair that went down just beneath her shoulder blades without any wind blowing. Like the others, she also had long, pointed ears. Hers pointed upward at a 45-degree angle and were about four inches long. She had moderately sized breasts, but you couldn't see them very well on account of all the layers of clothing that covered her body. Her eyes, however, were the color purple. It was almost an unearthly shade of purple. She was a very beautiful young woman for a good reason.

Finally, the younger man broke the silence that consumed the area and asked the older man, "Marlu, are you totally certain that this young man is the one we need?" in a very strong voice and masculine voice that exuded the aura of authority.

Marlu the sage gazed intently at Jonathan and replied, "Yes. I am certain that is the one whom the prophesy speaks of, General Attula," in a very frail voice common in very old men.

"I don't know," General Attula responded, "He doesn't look very strong at all."

"Don't judge a tome by its cover, General," the older woman said to General Attula, "I can almost sense the inner strength inside this young man, even from a totally different world. I think I will be able to train him into the suitable warrior we need."

"I don't know, Impa," General Attula responded, "We don't have much time here to train him."

"He won't need much training; his quest will bring out the force that we seek in order to survive," Marlu said.

"That is what the prophesy says," the younger woman responded.

"The final choice is up to you, Princess Zelda," Impa said, "Do we bring him here or not?"

Princess Zelda looked back at the young man in the sphere for a moment, and then said, "Yes. It's worth a shot."

"Stand back," Marlu ordered the others as he held his staff upright directly in front of him while the other three backed away from the sphere. Once they were all far enough away from the sphere, Marlu made an outline with his staff in the air of a triangle with another triangle inside of it. Then, he placed the end of his staff back on the ground and began to chant something in a language that only the old mages knew.

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Jonathan had just made it back to his apartment and was eating some cereal in his small kitchen. He still had his New England Patriots winter coat on, even though he was inside. He was about to take it off when, all of a sudden, he felt very cold. He decided to leave the coat on and went back to eating his cereal.

Then, all of a sudden, he dropped his spoon without warning. Jonathan looked at his fingers and was shocked. His fingertips were dissolving into thin air. He looked down at his feet and saw that his shoes and his feet were also dissolving into thin air. But he felt nothing at all.

_What the hell is happening to me!?_ Jonathan thought in panic.

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Marlu had just finished his chanting when, all of a sudden, the top of his staff glowed brightly white. Marlu slowly waved his staff around in the air, and then pointed the top of the staff at the pedestal upon which the sphere had been placed.

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Jonathan watched in both horror and fascination as his arms and legs dissolved into nothing. His body continued to dissolve, moving up to his neck and head. His torso seemed to hang in mid air while it continued to dissolve. Finally, his neck disappeared into thin air, followed by his head.

Then, Jonathan saw that his body had come back together, but he looked around and saw nothing but blackness. _What the hell is going on here?_ he asked himself. Suddenly, he felt that he was beginning to move very quickly to … somewhere. The blackness swirled around him, but Jonathan looked toward his feet and saw colors other than black. And he was heading toward those colors.

After a few moments, Jonathan left the black space he had been traveling through and landed on the ground. He looked around and saw a place he swore that he had seen before, yet had never actually been before. Before him was a marble pedestal with a glass sphere resting in a cavity on top of it. He looked into this sphere and saw what he immediately recognized to be his apartment. _Has someone been watching me?_ he asked himself as he looked up and saw that he was standing on an octagonal, creme-colored platform of some kind. Surrounding that platform was a small field of grass. He also saw that there was a staircase ahead of him that led down. The whole place was surrounded by large, gray stone walls. Jonathan looked up and saw that the walls went up about twenty feet before they stopped, leaving a large opening for sunlight to get through. It was something Jonathan had never seen before.

"Toto," he said quietly, "I don't think we're in Manchester anymore."

"Pardon me?" Jonathan heard a feminine voice ask from behind him.

Jonathan turned around quickly and saw the one who was called Princess Zelda. Had Jonathan not been so stunned by his change of surroundings, his mouth probably would have hit the ground. _That's she!_ he exclaimed inside his head, _That's the woman from my dreams!_

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Author's Notes: Yes folks, we have left Manchester behind (at least for now) and we are in more familiar surroundings for Zelda fans. I think this is a rather weak chapter on my part, so go ahead and rip me apart. This is just a chapter that focuses on describing characters that we already know about for the most part. Marlu and Attula aren't going to be appearing much in this story.

After this, the chapters start to get a bit longer. Chapter 3 is more than twice as long as this one (referring to the story itself, and not including author's notes). And Chapter 26 is a real monster, but you won't have to worry about that for at least a few months.

As always, next chapter comes next Friday by 1:00 PM Eastern Time. For now, read and review please.


	4. Chapter 3: What Has Happened in Hyrule?

Author's Notes: Can anyone tell me what I have to do to get some attention around here? I swear, I would like some more attention. Oh well, perhaps nearly doubling the length of the story will help. Thanks to the following who reviewed last chapter:

Bamber of Daggerspine: Wow, the difference is clear already? I didn't realize that. Thanks for your continued support. And yes, even I'm getting impatient with my own updates, but the updates will continue at their current pace.

xakattak: Yeah, I just wanted to introduce two characters of mine (who we won't actually see too much of in this story) and to describe Impa and Zelda to those who never played Ocarina of Time. Thank you for your continued support.

fatal whispher: Yes, I am planning on this to be the first story in a trilogy. I will begin writing the second story in the series once I finish posting this story. And I am updating this story every Friday afternoon. So you'll have to be patient enough to wait a week. But I am glad you like this.

And speaking of Ocarina of Time, here comes how this story is related to it!

**Chapter 3: What has Happened in Hyrule?**

"Who… Who are you?" Jonathan asked the young woman who was standing in front of him, "W-Where am I?"

"You are in the land we call Hyrule," Princess Zelda answered in what sounded to Jonathan like perfect English, "And my name is Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. It is a pleasure to meet you." She then bowed slightly toward Jonathan.

Jonathan awkwardly bowed back. He then looked around and saw three others standing nearby. "Who are they?" Jonathan asked, pointing to the others.

"Let me introduce you to them," Zelda said as she walked over to what appeared to be a very old man in dark blue robes. "This is Marlu. He is a sage." Marlu bowed very slightly in Jonathan's direction. Once again, Jonathan bowed back. Zelda then walked over to a middle-aged man in some kind of military uniform. "This is Attula. He is the General of all Hylian forces." General Attula also bowed in Jonathan's direction, and Jonathan bowed back. Zelda then walked over to a very tall woman with very long ears (by now, Jonathan had noticed that everyone here had long, pointed ears, but was very surprised by Impa's ears). "And this is Impa. She is my attendant." Jonathan and Impa bowed to each other.

Jonathan's mind was still running in circles over what little he already had heard. "You say that you call this place Hyrule, right?" Jonathan asked Zelda.

"Yes," Zelda responded.

"Kind of a small place for it to have its own name, don't you think?" Jonathan asked innocently.

Zelda was puzzled at first, then realized what Jonathan meant and giggled. For some reason he couldn't explain at the moment, Jonathan immediately loved that sound. "This place alone isn't Hyrule," Zelda explained, "Hyrule is a much bigger land. This place is just a small portion of the land of Hyrule."

"Oh, I get it now," Jonathan responded. He then looked at Impa's blood-red eyes and found that he couldn't stop staring at them. They unnerved him, but it was as if they had cast a spell on him and that he couldn't break it through willpower alone.

Impa quickly noticed Jonathan staring at her. "Yes?" she asked rather menacingly. She also seemed to speak in perfect English, but something didn't match up between her voice and her lip movements.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jonathan apologized, "I'm just not used to seeing people with red eyes."

"I see," Impa responded calmly.

"Impa is not like the rest of us," Zelda explained to Jonathan, "You see, there are many different people who call Hyrule home. First of all are the Hylians, which include General Attula, Marlu the sage, and myself. Hylians generally have paler colored skin than other races and average sized ears."

_And by average sized ears, I guess she means six inches long instead of two, _Jonathan thought to himself. He nodded to show Zelda that he understood.

"Then there are the Sheikah," Zelda said, "Of whom Impa is one. They have always been the faithful, loyal guardians of the Hylian Royal Family. They have strong builds and long ears. They also have very impressive skills in casting magic."

_Magic, huh?_ Jonathan thought, _This is something I'll have to see for myself._ "Okay, I understand," Jonathan said.

"There are also those we call the Gerudo," Zelda continued, "Who are a tribe of female thieves who live in the desert. A male Gerudo is born only once every hundred years, and he becomes the King of the Gerudo."

"Wait a second," Jonathan interrupted, "If only one male Gerudo is born every hundred years, how the hell do they keep themselves going?"

"They steal boyfriends from our towns at night, that's how," General Attula answered with a laugh, also in perfect English, but again, the lips did not match the words, "Trust me, I know."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow at Attula, not knowing exactly what he meant by that.

Zelda looked at General Attula a second, and then looked back at Jonathan. "The Gerudo have fairly dark skin and have smaller ears than Hylians; in fact, your ears are very similar to a Gerudo's. They are also very agile. There are also the Kokiri, the Zoras and the Gorons, but we'll deal with them later," Zelda said.

"Okay," Jonathan replied as he nodded, "So, what happens to me now?"

"You're going to have to get new clothing," Impa said bluntly.

Jonathan looked down at what he was wearing. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Jonathan replied.

"Follow us," Zelda said as she started walking back to the large structure behind them. Jonathan followed the others into what appeared to be a large temple carved out of a huge cliff.

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"Um, Zelda?" Jonathan asked rather shyly from near the back of the group.

Impa cast a dirty look at Jonathan, but Zelda turned her head back to Jonathan without such contempt. "Yes?" she replied.

"You said you are the Princess of Hyrule. So, that means that your father is the king, right?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, that would be correct," Zelda answered as she turned back in the direction the group was walking.

"From now on, you'll address her as Princess Zelda," Impa said in an annoyed way at Jonathan.

"Oh, come now Impa," Marlu chastised in his frail voice, "The boy has only been here for a short time."

Jonathan was now interested about something else about these people. "Do you speak my language?" he asked.

"No, we don't," General Attula answered, "But we have these." He then reached into a shirt pocket of his uniform and pulled out what appeared to Jonathan to be a smooth, odd-shaped stone of some kind. "This is called a Stone of Voices, and it lets us talk to you in your language whilst speaking our own and vice versa."

_Sort of like an automatic translator,_ Jonathan thought, _Now I understand why their lip movements weren't matching their words._

"What do you call this place, anyway?" Jonathan asked referring to the large structure they were now inside.

"This place is the Forest Temple," Marlu answered, "By the way, what is your name?"

"My name is Jonathan. Jonathan Walker Nichols, Jr.," Jonathan replied.

"I think we'll just call you Jonathan," Zelda said.

"Sure," Jonathan replied with a shrug.

On account of Marlu's slow walking speed, it took a while for the group to get to where they were heading. Right now, they were in a rather large and dark room that had some sort of open box in the center. The box's sides were open, but the box had a roof and a floor. Jonathan couldn't tell whether the red color was the natural color of the wood the box was made out of or whether it was painted on. The walls of the room were made of stone, just like most of the Forest Temple was. _I wonder how much work went into carving this thing out of solid rock,_ Jonathan thought to himself.

When they reached the center of the large room, which Jonathan called the "Main Atrium," where the open box was, Jonathan watched as Marlu and Attula walked into the box. Then, Attula grabbed a small lever on the bottom of the roof and flipped its position. The box immediately began to sink into the ground. _Oh, an elevator,_ Jonathan thought, _Cool._

After about two minutes, the elevator arrived back in the large room. Impa now stepped into the elevator and was going to flip the switch when she looked right at Jonathan with her piercing blood-red eyes. "If you do anything to Princess Zelda," she began menacingly, "I will see to it that you will regret it."

Jonathan immediately put his hands out in front of him, palms out and facing Impa. "I wouldn't dream of hurting any of you," Jonathan said innocently.

Impa continued to stare at Jonathan as she flipped the elevator switch. She even kept staring at Jonathan as she descended into the floor.

Jonathan finally shuddered. "That woman gives me the creeps," he told Zelda.

"Good," Zelda answered in a matter-of-fact way, "That means she's doing her job right. Follow me." She then led Jonathan toward a brown, wooden door near the back of the room.

"So, Princess Zelda," Jonathan began to ask, "Why have you brought me here?"

Zelda remained silent until they reached the door, then turned around and answered to Jonathan, "To save us."

Jonathan was taken aback. "You're joking, right?" he asked. A single glance at the desperation he now saw in Zelda's eyes showed him that she was deadly serious. "You're serious. But how can I save you?"

"You will find out in time," Zelda answered as she opened the door.

Jonathan now found himself in a room that was open to the sky. Jonathan looked up and saw that he could see a blue sky and white clouds in this room. All around him, green grass grew from the ground and a small, waist-deep stream cut through the room. Around him, Jonathan saw what appeared to be brick walls that bounded the room on all sides. Against the brick wall that separated the Main Atrium from this room, which Jonathan called the "Outdoor Courtyard," there stood a brown, wooden ladder that led up to a second level, which consisted of a narrow walkway made of brick and a few doors that led to other rooms on the second floor of the Forest Temple. Jonathan made a low whistle at the sight.

Zelda looked back at Jonathan. "You like this room?" she asked him.

Jonathan nodded. "I've always been fond of nature for some reason," he replied, "Unfortunately, in my world, you don't come across it like this very often. At least, not where I come from."

"What a shame," Zelda commented, and then looked toward the ladder that led to the second floor. "Follow me," she said as she walked toward the ladder.

"Okay," Jonathan replied as he followed after her, "Are we going to climb that ladder?"

"Yes, we are," Zelda answered, "Why?"

"I'll go up first," Jonathan stated quickly as they reached the ladder.

"Why do you want to go first?" Zelda inquired.

_Because I wouldn't feel right looking up the bottom of your dress,_ Jonathan thought the real answer. However, he couldn't bring himself to say that right to Zelda's face. "I don't know," he quickly said, "I… just feel like climbing up first."

Zelda was now very interested in the kind of culture that Jonathan had been raised in. She nodded and let Jonathan go up the ladder first.

"Thanks," Jonathan said as he grabbed the rungs of the ladder and began to climb up to the second floor. Zelda climbed up right behind him.

Once Jonathan got to the top of the ladder, he had to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. He was still wearing his winter coat when the temperature and humidity in the room almost demanded shorts. He felt like his body was being cooked. He watched Zelda as she got onto the second floor walkway. He couldn't help but stare at Zelda for some reason.

"It looks like you're getting very uncomfortable, Jonathan," Zelda said after looking at Jonathan.

"Yeah, these clothes were designed with the cold in mind," he replied, though his discomfort was coming from something else besides the heat.

"There are some clothes you will find more comfortable in your room over there," Zelda replied, pointing toward a brown, wooden door that was about 15 feet away from the two of them on the walkway.

"Okay," Jonathan said as he began walking toward the door Zelda had been pointing toward. With Zelda following behind him, he put his right hand on the brass doorknob, turned in, and pushed the door inwards.

The room that Jonathan walked into was a very simple room. About 20 feet by 20 feet and 10 feet high, it also seemed rather spacious because there wasn't much in it. In the corner directly across the room from the door was a small torch that gave the room some light. Diagonally across the room from that torch was a similar one. Both burned with a relatively cool, red flame. Near the latter torch, Jonathan spotted what appeared to be a wooden dresser which was about four feet tall and had four drawers in it. And in the corner diagonally across the room from the door, Jonathan saw a bed of some sort. It was six feet long and three feet wide, and it was elevated off the ground on four wooden posts by about a foot. The bed was covered by a white sheet and had two white pillows on it. Jonathan didn't know what kind of stuffing was in the bed or the pillows yet. Three of the walls were made out of brick, but the far wall (the wall that faced toward the Main Atrium) was made out of the same gray stone that he saw in the Main Atrium. The room was also quite a bit cooler and a lot less humid than the Outdoor Courtyard. All-in-all, Jonathan liked how simplistic the room seemed.

"I kinda like this room," Jonathan remarked as Zelda closed the door behind them.

"Very good," she replied, "Your new clothes are in that dresser."

"Okay," he replied as he walked over to the dresser. As he walked over to it, he saw on the floor next to the bed a pair of brown, leather boots that would reach one-third of the way to his knees from the bottom of his feet. He opened the top drawer first and saw a white garment of some kind which felt as soft as cotton to the touch. Lifting one of the white garments out of the drawer, Jonathan saw that the garment was actually a white leotard with tight pant legs and long sleeves. On the back of the leotard-like clothing were three small, brown, leather belts with a brass belt buckle on the end of each buckle on one side, while on the other belt straps were small holes where the buckles could be fastened.

_Oh God, I hate these things,_ Jonathan groaned to himself as he put the piece of clothing on the top of the dresser, closed the top drawer, and opened the second drawer.

What he saw there was something forest green. _Please don't let it be tights,_ Jonathan begged in his head as he grabbed this garment, which was surprisingly rough to the touch. He lifted the garment out of the drawer and saw that it was a skirt that would just barely reach his knees from his hips. _Even worse than tights,_ Jonathan thought to himself as he looked back into the drawer and saw something brown. Jonathan reached for it and grabbed a leather belt out of the drawer. The belt was a much bigger version of those on the back of the leotard, except that this one had what appeared to be three clips of some kind on what would be the side of the belt if he put it on. He put the belt and the skirt underneath the leotard, closed that drawer and opened the third drawer.

Inside, Jonathan found another green garment that was surprisingly rough to the touch, like the skirt. He lifted this garment out of the drawer and saw a tunic of some sort. There were three buckles on the front of the tunic that were exactly like the buckles on the back of the white leotard, except the ones on the shirt were slightly larger. It seemed that the tunic and the skirt were made out of the same exact material. _Okay, this is nice,_ Jonathan thought, _But it seems like everything here is exactly my size. How is that possible?_ Jonathan put the tunic under the other clothes and closed the drawer. "I think I've got all of my new clothes," Jonathan told Zelda, expecting her to leave the room.

"You've forgotten the bottom drawer," she called.

Jonathan reached down and opened the bottom drawer and found yet another rough, green piece of clothing. As Jonathan lifted the small, triangular cloth out of the drawer, he immediately figured out what it was. _A hat,_ he thought, _An elf's hat._ But after he picked that up, he found two large pieces of leather. He pulled these out and saw that they were gauntlets to be worn on the arms. Jonathan closed the drawer and turned toward Zelda. "Okay, I'll get these clothes on now," he told Zelda.

"I'll tell you about why you're here while you dress," Zelda replied.

"Wait a sec," Jonathan said in an alarmed way, "You're not leaving the room?"

"No," Zelda answered, "Why?"

"Well, because…" he began, not knowing exactly how to put this to a princess.

"You seem to be very… self-conscious," Zelda noted, taking that responsibility away from Jonathan somewhat.

Jonathan stood still for a moment, and then responded, "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Then I won't look at you while you put your new clothes on," Zelda said.

"Well," Jonathan began, "Okay. Just don't look over here until I say you can."

Zelda nodded and almost giggled as she turned away from Jonathan, who began to take off his clothes. "I will now tell you why we have brought you here. It all began 11 years ago, when this world of Hyrule was put in peril by a dark man. He rode through the desert on a black stallion. He was the King of the Gerudo. His name was Ganondorf.

"At this time, there was a young boy who lived in the forest village not far from here. His name was Link, and he was 10 years old. He thought that he was one of those that surrounded him, but he was actually a Hylian. And destiny decided that he would be the Hero of Time, one who could travel through time to fight off evil. And so, he unknowingly at first set out on an adventure that would save the land of Hyrule.

"Though young Link had much courage and strength, he was neither brave nor strong enough at his young age to become the Hero of Time. And so it was that he aged seven years and traveled through seven years of time, unable to stop the land around him from falling into the hands of Ganondorf. And so, as a young man of seventeen, Link continued his quest to save Hyrule, traveling back-and-forth through time to do so.

"In the end, Link defeated Ganondorf in his castle and saved my life. Then we escaped the castle's collapse with mere seconds to spare. Then, when we thought we were safe and Ganondorf dead, he returned in his true form. This we called Ganon. And after a long, arduous battle, the Hero of Time defeated Ganon, who was then sealed in another world. However, in order to set Hyrule right, I had to make it so that Link's adventure had never taken place at all. And so I sent him back to the time he had started in. But the memories of that adventure stayed with us forever. Link soon left the forest village which he had called home for so long to seek his destiny as the great hero of legend.

"However, when I sent Link back in time, he disappeared from this world. This left us defenseless against any great evil that would come. And a great evil did come from one we never suspected of being an enemy.

"Less than a year ago, Ganon's spirit was brought back to this world by a dark ritual. The one who performed this dark ritual was Orizon, a Sheikah who was once an ally of my father's during the War of Chaos. Without the Hero of Time, there was no way our forces could stop Ganondorf, so we fled from Hyrule Castle and established a presence here in the Forest Temple. Now, we must bring the spirit of the Hero of Time back to this world in order to defeat Ganondorf."

Jonathan had just finished buckling the white leotard and was beginning to put on the green skirt when Zelda finished her story. And, strangely enough, Jonathan believed every word she had said. But some things just didn't make sense. "So, why have you brought me, a complete stranger, to your world to deal with this Ganondorf?" Jonathan asked as he pulled the skirt up his legs and up to his hips, "Couldn't you have taken care of this yourselves?"

"Because destiny has placed a burden on you. Fate has given you the task of defeating Orizon and helping the Hero of Time restore order to Hyrule. Marlu has foreseen this in you," Zelda responded, "Plus, no one in Hyrule now has the courage to undertake what you will have to."

Jonathan held up his skirt with his left hand while his right hand grabbed the leather belt that he had placed on top of the dresser. "Do you know how to bring the Hero of Time back to life?" Jonathan asked as he wrapped the belt around his waist in order to keep his skirt from falling down.

"No, not at this time," Zelda answered, "However, we know how to find the way to bring his spirit back to this world."

Jonathan had just finished tightening the belt and was now putting on the green tunic. "So, Ganondorf is a male Gerudo, right?" Jonathan asked as he began to fasten the belts on the front of his tunic.

"That's correct, the first one to be born in a hundred years. He was once an ally of my father, back when the land of Hyrule was engulfed by the War of Chaos. That war ended shortly after I was born," Zelda replied.

Jonathan had now fastened all three belts on the front of his tunic and was now tucking the bottom of the tunic between his belt and his skirt. Once he had done that, he put the green cap on the top of his head, then pulled the gauntlets onto his arms, reaching halfway to his elbows. Once this was done, he looked toward Zelda, who was still looking away from him. "I'm done dressing," he told her.

Zelda turned to look at Jonathan. When she saw him, she couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "I'm sorry," Zelda apologized.

"It's okay," Jonathan said as he grabbed the boots, "I must look like a complete fool in this." He looked at his old clothes, which he had pilled up on his bed.

"I just remembered that I needed to give you this," Zelda said as she walked toward Jonathan while reaching for something in a fold in her robes that lay over her left breast. She pulled out what appeared to be another Stone of Voices and gave it to Jonathan. "Now you'll be able to talk to and understand all the peoples of Hyrule."

"Thank you, Princess Zelda," Jonathan replied as he put the stone in one of the slots of his belt, then put on his boots. They were rather comfortable, for the padding inside of the boots acted like socks.

"Now, I must take you to see my father," Zelda said as she led Jonathan out of the room.

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Author's Notes: Yes, here is the setup for this story; the bridge between Ocarina of Time and this story. And yes, I am using the double timeline. It works the best for my purposes. I'll explain more about my timeline at a later time or when I start getting a lot of questions about it.

As always, next chapter on Friday before 1 PM Eastern. Read and review please!


	5. Chapter 4: The King of Red Lions

Author's Notes: Thanks to those of you who took your time to read and even review my story over the past week.

Bamber of Daggerspine: Eh, next chapter is another setup chapter, but after that, we get some real action. Stay tuned; I think you will enjoy that.

Infernal Flame Zero: Thank you for your support and I'll consider checking out your work.

fatal whispher: I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until Friday afternoon like everyone else. Thank you for your continued support.

Guys, don't be afraid to tell me if something is wrong with my writing. If you have questions about something, please ask away.

**Chapter 4: The King of Red Lions**

As Zelda led Jonathan back down the ladder, one question raced through Jonathan's head more than any other. Jonathan knew almost certainly that Zelda was the woman from his dreams. She was the woman with whom he had shared that kiss with only last night near a forest. _But what does this all mean?_ Jonathan asked himself, and he found that he could not come up with an answer as of yet for that question.

"So, your father is the King of Hyrule, right?" Jonathan asked, and then chastised himself silently for asking a question he already knew the answer to.

"Yes, he is," Zelda answered as she began walking back toward the Main Atrium, "But his official title is the King of Red Lions."

"King of Red Lions?" Jonathan asked in a puzzled way, "Where does that title come from?"

"No one remembers," Zelda answered, "But it is what the King of Hyrule has always been called."

"So, your mother would be the Queen of Red Lions, right?" Jonathan asked, not intending to cause harm.

Zelda had just reached the door to the Main Atrium and was reaching for the doorknob when she heard Jonathan say the word "mother." Zelda immediately stopped in her tracks.

Jonathan knew immediately that something was wrong. "What's wrong Princess Zelda?" he inquired.

"Nothing," Zelda lied, "Nothing at all." She quickly opened the door.

_Something isn't right about this,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _She absolutely froze when I said that thing about her mother._

Zelda led Jonathan to the elevator in the center of the Main Atrium. They both stepped into the elevator. Jonathan found it to be a rather tight fit with more than one person crammed into such a tight space. Zelda reached up with her pale white hand and flipped the lever in the top of the elevator. The elevator jerked a few inches downward, then began to descend at a steady pace. Jonathan looked to the sides and saw only the gray rock walls go up around him. He decided to try to figure out why Zelda froze like she did. "Zelda?" he asked, forgetting what Impa had told him earlier.

"Yes?" she answered, not being able to turn to look at Jonathan.

"When I mentioned the thing about your mother, you just froze in place. Did I say something I shouldn't have?" he inquired.

"Well, it's not your fault," Zelda began to explain, "There was no way you could have known that… that…" Then Zelda began to cry.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Jonathan asked almost in a whisper.

Zelda nodded. "Yes, she was killed," she struggled to answer through her tears.

"Killed by that traitor Orizon you told me about, I bet," Jonathan said in a semi-arrogant way.

"Oh, no, not him," Zelda quickly stated, "By Ganondorf." It sounded as if she was protecting Orizon from Jonathan's words.

This statement made Jonathan's head spin with confusion. _Still, Orizon brought Ganondorf back to life, so he basically killed her mother. Yet she defends him as if she is absolutely certain he's innocent,_ he thought to himself. "But didn't Orizon…" Jonathan began to ask.

"Don't bother asking me about him or his motives anymore," Zelda interrupted, almost beginning to cry again, "All I know is that he didn't kill my mother and that he never intended fr that to happen."

_Maybe so,_ Jonathan thought coldly in his head,_ But he did sure as hell condemned your mother to die._ Zelda's defending Orizon was going to confuse Jonathan for a good while.

It took about a minute for the elevator to get down to the floor it was descending to. Zelda stepped out of the elevator. "Now Jonathan, when you meet my father, you will get down on your right knee."

"Okay," Jonathan said as he looked around. This room was shaped like a large regular octagon except that it had two large rectangular walls that shot out from the walls on opposite sides. Also, the room had a few alcoves imbedded into the walls. Jonathan also saw what appeared to be a large, magnificent doorway. He guessed that Zelda's father was behind that door. The stone walls were still colored gray and the only illumination in the room came from eight large torches, burning ten feet above the ground on every side of the room.

"When my father greets you, you will clearly respond, 'I thank you, great King of Red Lions.' Then you will be allowed to rise to your feet," Zelda instructed as she led Jonathan toward the ornate door.

"I understand," Jonathan responded as he followed her to the door, which was about ten feet tall and ten feet across. On it was inlaid an equilateral triangle whose midpoints were joined together, forming four smaller equilateral triangles within the larger triangle. Jonathan was immediately intrigued by this. "Princess Zelda," he asked, "What is that?" He pointed to the inlaid triangles.

Zelda looked at the place where Jonathan was pointing. "Oh, that is the Triforce," Zelda answered.

"The Triforce?" Jonathan asked.

"It is the symbol of the goddesses," Zelda explained, "I will tell you the story about it later. Now, help me push this door open."

"Alright," Jonathan answered as he and Zelda began to push on opposite sides of the door's center, for the door opened from and closed to the center, swinging on large brass hinges attached to the stone walls. The door opened slowly, revealing a corridor of stairs that led around a circular platform that was raised off of the floor of the room. The stones in this room all seemed to be colored blue and there was light from the torches in the room.

Zelda led Jonathan up the stairs which spiraled up and around the platform. On the walls, Jonathan could see large pictures of what appeared to be a dirt road with a town in the distance at night. Jonathan knew that he shouldn't say a thing right now as the top of the platform came to eye level. He looked toward the platform and saw Marlu, Impa and Attula all standing around a large, golden throne. And in that throne, Jonathan saw a middle-aged man wearing bright red robes and a golden crown upon his curly, blonde hair that went down to his shoulders. His red robes covered everything from his neck down to his feet. Except for his face and hands, his body was completely covered by the robes. The skin color of the man's hands was quite a bit more tan than Zelda's, but it was still easy to see that this man must be a Hylian. _So that is Zelda's father,_ Jonathan thought as he turned his head away from the King of Hyrule and back to the stairs, _Now I see where the "Red" in his title comes from._

As the two reached the top of the platform, Zelda stopped moving and motioned for Jonathan to move a bit closer to her father. Jonathan took three steps toward the king and then got down on his right knee and looked to the ground. He heard Zelda's father rise from his throne.

"Stranger from another world, welcome to Hyrule. I am Alazon, King of Red Lions," King Alazon said in a deep voice to Jonathan.

"I thank you, great King of Red Lions," Jonathan said as strongly and clearly as he could.

"You may rise," King Alazon stated.

Jonathan got back on his feet. "Thank you, Your Highness," he said as he took one step backwards.

Now that Jonathan had a clear look at Alazon's face, he could only think of how much Zelda's face resembled her father's. Both had faces that were more pointed than rounded, which made Zelda and Alazon look very noble to Jonathan. And, what struck Jonathan the most, both had almost the same shade of purple for eye color, though King Alazon's purple was a bit darker than Zelda's. In fact, Jonathan had to resist the urge to look back at Zelda to make sure exactly how similar the two's faces looked.

Alazon's purple eyes looked right at Jonathan. "So, you are the hero who is going to save my kingdom from the evil forces of Ganondorf?" he asked rhetorically.

"I guess so," Jonathan answered, "His forces and Orizon's."

"Don't bother with Orizon just yet, Jonathan," King Alazon replied, "Ganondorf is who you should worry about first and foremost."

"Yes, Your Highness," Jonathan responded. _Again, they are defending Orizon. Why?_ Jonathan asked himself.

"You will need a weapon to fight Ganondorf's evil forces with," Alazon said, and then he snapped his fingers and said, "Attula."

General Attula walked over to Alazon. "Yes, Your Highness?" he asked while standing up straight and looking at King Alazon.

"Give Jonathan my sword and get him a good shield as well," Alazon ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness," Attula answered and walked behind the throne. When he walked into Jonathan's sight again, he was holding two items in his hands. In his right hand, he held a straight sword still inside its sheathe. The sword appeared to be about three feet long to Jonathan and its hilt was encrusted with several different kinds of small gems. In his left hand, Attula was holding what appeared to be a large shield made of stone. It was painted in blue, red, white and gold on the front, where Jonathan again saw that Triforce symbol, painted in gold. _Obviously, that is a very important symbol to these people,_ Jonathan thought to himself as Attula looked at Alazon again.

"Give those items to Jonathan," King Alazon ordered Attula.

"Yes, Your Highness," Attula responded as he walked toward Jonathan with the sword and shield.

"That shield is a Hylian Shield. It is created from well-forged iron, a very sturdy substance. It shall protect you against the forces of evil that you will encounter," Alazon said as Attula gave Jonathan the shield. Jonathan then slid his left arm through the two leather straps on the back side of the shield. Jonathan decided that the shield was built with the perfect weight, size and shape for him.

"And this sword is my sword; Alazon's Blade, you could call it," King Alazon said, "It served me very well in the wars I fought decades ago against evil. It was made by a master bladesmith. It shall serve you well in your fight against evil."

As Alazon finished saying that, Attula handed Jonathan the sheathe in which the sword rested, which had brown leather cords on its side. Jonathan took the sheathe and tied it onto his belt on his left side. Having done this, he pulled the sword out of its sheathe with his right hand and swung it around a little. Again, Jonathan decided it was good enough to serve him.

"Thank you, great King of Red Lions," Jonathan said to Alazon as he sheathed his sword, then bowed to the king.

King Alazon nodded. "You will be trained to use these weapons by Impa, Princess Zelda's attendant," he said as Impa bowed at King Alazon's feet.

"It would be an honor to do this for you, Your Majesty," Impa replied.

"Thank you Impa," King Alazon responded, "I know you shall perform your task well. You will have two weeks, and then we shall see how much he has learned."

"Yes Your Majesty," Impa replied as she stood up again and walked to Jonathan's side.

"Jonathan, do you have any questions to ask of me?" King Alazon inquired.

"Uh, none Your Highness," Jonathan answered.

"Very well then," the king said after a brief pause, "You may leave now, along with Princess Zelda. Impa, I need to have a short word with you."

As Impa approached the throne, Jonathan and Zelda walked back down the spiral staircase together.

"You are right-handed," Zelda stated as they reached the large door.

"Yeah," Jonathan answered puzzled, "Why is that important?"

"Oh, nothing really," Zelda responded, "It's just that Link was left-handed."

"Okay," Jonathan replied as they opened the door and walked back into the elevator room. "Now, you have to tell me the story about the Triforce."

"Yes, I know," Zelda responded. She then cleared her throat and began the tale.

"A long time ago, the world of Hyrule was just a large, dead rock, floating in space. Nothing lived on the planet. It just went around its star in its eternal orbit.

"But then, three goddesses came upon Hyrule and decided to give it life. These three goddesses are represented by the three golden triangles of the Triforce.

"First was Din, the Goddess of Power. She wears robes of red, the color of power. With her scorching flames, she burned the grounds of this planet, making them capable of life.

"Next after Din was Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom. She wears robes of blue, the color of wisdom. She bequeathed her wisdom to this world of Hyrule and gave it the spirit of law.

"Finally after Nayru was Farore, the Goddess of Courage. She wears robes of green, the color of courage. With her came the forms of life that would uphold the spirit of law established by Nayru. With Din's fire, Nayru's wisdom, and Farore's soul, life began on this world of Hyrule and flourished.

"Then all three goddesses combined their powers and imbued all the forms of life on Hyrule with their attributes; power, wisdom, and courage. Thus, the creation of Hyrule was completed.

"The three goddesses, seeing their work on Hyrule done, flew into the sky, drawing closer and closer to each other. When all three touched, they disappeared and, to this date, have never been seen since. But where they disappeared, they left behind the greatest power known to us. Three golden triangles, the Triforce. The place where this holy relic came to rest is the Sacred Realm. No normal creature can see this place. The Sacred Realm is where the Triforce is kept, safe from the prying eyes of evil."

"Interesting," Jonathan stated after Zelda had finished the story, "So, how are you sure that these goddesses exist if you have never seen them?"

"Because they talk to certain beings in this world," Zelda answered, "And I am one of them."

"What have they told you?" Jonathan asked her. He was very skeptical of this new religion he had just heard about, and even more skeptical about Zelda's ability to hear the voices of deities. A few experiences in his life taught him to distrust organized religion and he considered himself non-religious.

"Well, I don't know if I can tell you what they have told me," Zelda answered.

"Why not?" Jonathan inquired, now starting to believe that he had encountered just another religion unjustified outside of its own teachings.

Before Zelda could answer, the large door opened again. Impa walked through and looked at Jonathan. "You," she started as she pointed at Jonathan, "Get to the upper level and wait for me there. I need to talk with Princess Zelda."

"Okay," Jonathan said as he walked into the elevator and pulled the handle. He went up into the stone shaft.

"You seem to enjoy his company very much," Impa stated to Zelda.

Zelda nodded. "I guess I do," she responded.

"Well, don't get too comfortable. He could be killed by the horrors that await him," Impa said.

"I know Impa," Zelda responded. Nothing was said between the two as they waited for the elevator to return to their level. Zelda and Impa continued this silence as the elevator returned to their level and as they boarded it and used it to return to the Main Atrium, as nothing needed to be said between them. They knew each other perfectly. Finally, as Impa stepped out of the elevator, she broke the silence when she said, "Follow me," to Jonathan. Jonathan followed her and Zelda through a door on the back wall of the room on the side opposite the door to Jonathan's room.

What greeted Jonathan as he stepped through this door was another outdoor area, almost exactly like the one that was next to his room. He watched as Zelda went off toward a ladder that led to the upper walkway to her room.

"Hey, eyes over here now," Impa ordered Jonathan sharply.

Jonathan quickly took his eyes off Zelda and looked at Impa, who was now between Jonathan and the ladder. Jonathan heard a door open and close from the upper walkway in the room.

"You will come here every morning at dawn and will leave every night at dusk. Between those two times, I will be training you to fight with short breaks for meals. We will continue this routine every day until I believe you have learned all you can from me," she said.

"Okay, I understand," Jonathan responded.

"First, we will work on the proper way to swing a sword," Impa stated, and thus began Jonathan's training.

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"Are you okay?" Zelda asked Jonathan just past dusk. He was holding his lower back and appeared to be in some pain.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jonathan assured, "It's just that Impa's training is very exhausting."

"A good night's rest ought to help that," Zelda said.

"Yeah, about that," Jonathan remembered, "How do you get the torches in your room to dim so that you can sleep?"

"Oh, they dim automatically after dusk and brighten at dawn," Zelda answered, "But yours will brighten about half an hour before dawn so that you can start training on time."

"Oh, okay," Jonathan answered.

"Good night, Jonathan," Zelda said.

"Good night to you too, Princess Zelda," Jonathan responded as he walked off toward his room. Even with the pain in his back, he managed to climb the ladder up to the walkway to his room. When he entered his bedroom, he immediately sat down on his bed, where his old clothes were still lying. He flung those onto the floor. He now knew that the bed was stuffed with feathers of some kind. He pushed down on the pillows. They were also stuffed with feathers.

After lying down for about five minutes on the bed, he stood up and took off his cap. Then he pulled his tunic out from his belt and took that off as well, along with the rest of his clothes except for the undergarment. He left that on as he laid down back onto his bed and went to sleep.

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Author's Notes: Perhaps this chapter is a bit unnecessary, but here it is regardless. Jonathan gets his initial armaments. We'll get some action soon, though, so don't worry.

Chapter 5 comes next Friday. For now, read and review please.


	6. Chapter 5: Jonathan's First Test

Author's Notes: Wow, what happened? No one is reading this anymore. I'm going to continue posting, but someone, please try to get some more readers here. I need more reviews. Thanks to the lone person who did actually review.

Infernal Flame Zero: Thanks for your continued support. Yeah, I suppose this is like a once-a-week TV series now. I hope you'll keep coming back for more, unlike the early viewers of Star Trek: Enterprise.

And here is the next chapter.

**Chapter 5: Jonathan's First Test**

Jonathan woke up with the brightening of the torches in his room. It had now been two weeks since he had come to the land of Hyrule, and he was beginning to like his new home very much. The air in the courtyard outside his room was some of the cleanest he had ever breathed, although it was always a bit too muggy for Jonathan there. There was something about the water that flowed through the courtyard that got Jonathan as clean as he had ever felt in his life. The water also cleaned his clothes very well. Jonathan decided that there was some magical property about the water here that made the water able to clean without the use of soap. The only downside Jonathan could see about living in Hyrule was that there was no football, but he could live with that as long as he had Princess Zelda around. He had been growing very fond of her in the past two weeks (Jonathan now was always wondering if that was because of his dreams of her or whether it was something else). And, as far as Jonathan could tell, Zelda had been growing fond of him as well. Now, when Impa wasn't around the two of them (which was a very rare moment), Jonathan simply addressed her as Zelda.

Jonathan got up and out of bed, then stretched a little to wake up. He still wore the white undergarment when he went to sleep, since it was always his tendency to wear something to bed. He then picked up the clothes that he had been wearing yesterday (except for his hat and his boots) and left his room and entered his still-dim courtyard. He walked over to the ladder down to the ground and slid down the ladder to the ground level. His feet landed softly on the green grass of the courtyard.

Jonathan then looked toward the north end of the room, where he had hung a long, thick, white rope that he got from Zelda after his first full day of training with Impa and was using it as a clothesline. Jonathan found that the heat of this courtyard would dry his clothes fairly quickly. Fortunately, his clothes didn't shrink as they dried. Jonathan saw that his clothes from two days ago were still hanging on the clothesline, now dry. He took those clothes off the line and placed them on the dry ground close to the deepest part of the stream in the courtyard. He then began to take off the clothing he was wearing.

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Zelda was now putting on her robes in her room, across the temple from Jonathan's. Her clothing was always washed for her by Impa. She had, indeed, grown quite fond of Jonathan and often found herself daydreaming about him. It also pained her very much to know that she could be sending Jonathan off to die in just a few hours. True, Link was able to easily defeat the evils as a boy that Jonathan was about to face. But that was still of little comfort to her.

_He has to survive this. It is his destiny,_ Zelda thought to herself as she put a forest green sash of sorts over her head and rested one end of the sash on her left shoulder, letting the other end fall to her waist. Today, Jonathan was to receive his first test in how he would handle the dangers that he would be required to face if he were to save Hyrule from Ganondorf himself. Zelda was certain Jonathan would be able to stop Ganondorf, but she still feared for Jonathan's well-being.

Having dressed, Zelda walked to the door of her room. After opening the door and entering the courtyard area, she closed the door and decided to wait for dawn to go to see Jonathan. She sat down on the upper walkway and waited.

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Having washed himself and his clothes from yesterday, Jonathan quickly hung his clothes from yesterday over the clothesline, then hurried up the ladder with the dry clothes from two days ago and went back into his room. Once there, he put those clothes on his bed, then reached into his drawer for his third and last white undergarment. He put that on and buckled it. After buckling the back of the undergarment, Jonathan took the undergarment that had been drying outside and put it in the same drawer as the undergarment he was now wearing. He did the same thing for the rest of his clothes, which were his skirt and his tunic. After he had his tunic buckled and tucked inside his belt and had put all his dry clothes away, he slipped his boots on his feet and put his cap on over his head. He then grabbed the sword that King Alazon had given to him and placed it on his belt so that it hanged from the left side of his body. He then picked up the shield that he had been given along with the sword and put it on his back so that the designs of the shield faced away from him. He then used a brown leather strap to secure the shield onto his back. Having finished dressing, Jonathan went outside again, walked along the upper walkway to the ladder down to the first floor, and climbed down the ladder.

"Good morning, Jonathan," he heard Zelda's voice say. Jonathan looked suddenly toward the door from the Main Atrium to his courtyard and found Princess Zelda standing there, wearing her usual pink and purple robes, along with a green sash that hung from her left shoulder to her waist on the right side of her body.

"Good morning, Zelda," Jonathan replied as the two walked toward each other, "I had better get going to your courtyard or Impa will have my head."

"Actually," Zelda began, "You will not be training today." She looked down at the ground.

Jonathan knew that something was wrong when Zelda did that. "Zelda, is something the matter?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say that something is 'wrong'," Zelda answered carefully, "But today you will be tested on all that you have learned in training with Impa."

"Tested? How?" Jonathan inquired.

"The Kokiri in the nearby village are in dire need of our aid," Zelda responded, "For their leader, the Great Deku Tree, has become infested with Ganondorf's evil minions. I am afraid that if we don't hurry, the Great Deku Tree will die. And if it dies, the Kokiri will be absolutely devastated."

"So, am I to fight this evil off from inside the Great Deku Tree somehow?" Jonathan asked, already knowing the answer.

Zelda nodded. "You will have all your questions answered in time," she said as the door to the courtyard opened.

"Jonathan, Princess Zelda," Impa's voice was heard saying, "We must leave shortly."

"I know Impa," Zelda turned and said to Impa. She then turned back to Jonathan. "Just follow us and we will tell you what you should do," she instructed.

"Yes Princess Zelda," Jonathan said so that he did not get a dirty look later on from Impa, who he now saw was wearing a forest green sash similar to Zelda's in a similar fashion as hers. Jonathan followed Impa and Zelda out into the Main Atrium, through the tunnel to the entrance of the Forest Temple, and out into the small clearing at the front of the Forest Temple. The three of them walked over the creme-colored platform with the Triforce symbol and walked down the staircase into a maze of marble walls and hedges that separated the area called the "Lost Woods" from the Forest Temple (Jonathan had been learning from Zelda about the geography of Hyrule). This area was called the "Sacred Forest Meadow."

Impa led the group up a ladder that was located against the marble wall directly straight ahead from the staircase to the Forest Temple. Zelda followed Impa up the ladder, with Jonathan getting on top of the wall last. Once all three were on top of the wall, Impa led the way to the other side of the meadow, finally jumping down onto the ground again after they had reached the end of the maze. Zelda jumped down after her, with Jonathan displaying his new found athletic prowess by doing a back flip off the top of the wall and landing perfectly on his feet.

"Very amusing," Impa said very sarcastically, while Zelda couldn't help but giggle a little. Jonathan himself laughed a little. Then he looked around and he was hit with a sudden feeling of déjà vu. _Why, this is the place from that last dream I had,_ he thought as he stood where he was and looked around.

Zelda turned around to tell Jonathan something when she noticed that Jonathan was looking around as if bewildered. "Jonathan, is something wrong?" she asked.

Jonathan looked toward Zelda and said, "No, nothing's wrong." He then hurried to catch up with Zelda. Impa had already gotten over a large tree that lay in the way of the path through the Lost Woods.

"Jonathan, could you please help me over this tree?" Zelda asked politely.

"Of course, Princess Zelda," Jonathan answered as he crouched down so that Zelda could get on top of his shoulders. After she did (Jonathan judged that she weighed around 125 pounds), Jonathan slowly stood up until he was standing up straight. Zelda then jumped onto the fallen tree.

"Do you need a hand to get up here?" Zelda asked.

"No, thank you anyway," Jonathan replied as he bent down, then jumped up and grabbed onto a thick branch on the tree, using that to pull himself on top of the tree. Zelda and Jonathan then jumped down onto the forest floor in front of them, where Jonathan was once again met with a feeling of déjà vu. He looked around as Zelda led him through the Lost Woods.

"Actually, it isn't the Great Deku Tree we are going to see, if you want to be technical about it," Zelda remarked, "The Great Deku Tree himself died eleven years ago because of the evil forces that had infested him. Link destroyed the evil within, but it was too little, too late. Seven years later, Link cleared the evil that had infested the Forest Temple at that time. This allowed the Deku Sprout to grow."

"So the Deku Sprout became the guardian of the forest?" Jonathan asked.

"Correct," Zelda affirmed, "But two years ago, the Deku Sprout was able to rejuvenate the remains of the Great Deku Tree. And so now we call him the Great Deku Tree again."

"Interesting," Jonathan stated.

As the group exited the Lost Woods, Jonathan saw Impa talking to what appeared to be a young girl dressed in forest green clothes. As Jonathan drew closer, he saw that the girl also had forest green-colored hair and had the same color for her eyes. Although she appeared to be 11 years old, Jonathan knew that this "girl" was a Kokiri, one of the many different races that called Hyrule home, and that her kind never aged and always retained the appearance of children. They had no parents, nor could they ever bear children, nor could they ever die of natural causes. However, most of the Kokiri were awfully naive in the ways of the world. This was partially the reason why the Kokiri lived in what was called "Kokiri Village," a place in Hyrule of little strategic importance of any kind. No Kokiri was ever allowed to leave the village, and, for the most part, no outsiders were allowed in.

As Jonathan approached the Kokiri girl, he immediately realized that this Kokiri was not naive in the ways of the world, as she and Zelda traded news about what was happening to the Great Deku Tree. "I'm afraid it may already be too late," she told Zelda.

"All the same, the sooner we clear out those evil beings, the better it will be for the village," Zelda responded. The Kokiri girl nodded. Zelda then looked at Jonathan and said, "Jonathan, this is Saria. She is one of the attendants to the Great Deku Tree."

Jonathan nodded and said, "Hello," to Saria. She nodded back at him and said, "Follow me." Impa, Zelda and Jonathan followed Saria through Kokiri Village, attracting quite a crowd to follow them as they approached a small opening in a stone wall at the far end of the village. They walked in silence toward the far end of the village, while many Kokiri whispered their thoughts to each other.

As Jonathan entered the small opening, he realized that this was actually a narrow path to something. As the group walked, he asked Zelda, "If Link was a Hylian, how could he have lived here?"

"Those questions will have to be answered later, Jonathan," Zelda said, "I'm afraid we don't have time to answer them now."

"But I may be killed fighting the evil forces inside the Great Deku Tree," Jonathan said in a joking manner.

"Link was able to defeat these forces as a child," Zelda responded, "I'm sure you'll be able to defeat them as you are now."

"Maybe," Jonathan began, "Then again, maybe… WHOA!"

Jonathan had just seen the Great Deku Tree for the first time, and he was stunned. This tree was at least 500 feet tall and at the ground must have been at least 300 feet around. The tree's canopy was at least a quarter of a square mile in area of a huge mass of green leaves. Jonathan was absolutely stunned by the sight and also intrigued by what appeared to be a face of some kind on the front of the trunk of the tree. Jonathan could easily see where the "Great" in Great Deku Tree came from. Jonathan just stood there with his mouth hanging open, unable to say anything or to move at all. Saria, on the other hand, got down on her knees while facing the Great Deku Tree while Zelda and Impa stood silently behind her.

Then, Jonathan heard a very deep voice say, "One of thee before me seeks to face those evil beings inside me. Thou brave soul, step forward and state thy name and purpose."

Jonathan found the courage to walk in front of the others and mustered up enough strength to say, "It is I, Jonathan Walker Nichols, Jr. I am the one you speak of, Great Deku Tree. I have come to this world to save Hyrule from the evil forces of Ganondorf."

The Great Deku Tree then asked, "Is thou brave enough to face those horrors inside of me?"

"Yes, I am," Jonathan responded, not sure if he actually was and not sure if it was even himself speaking.

Then something happened to the Great Deku Tree that made Jonathan's mouth drop open again. The "mouth" on the front of the trunk of the Great Deku Tree began to drop into the ground, revealing a large opening into the inside of the tree. As the opening became larger, the Great Deku Tree said, "Then enter, Jonathan, and may thou use haste, for I fear that thou has not much time to spare." Then the opening reached to the ground level and the rumblings caused by the opening of the Great Deku Tree stopped.

Jonathan looked back at Zelda for guidance.

"You must enter, Jonathan," Zelda said, "But don't worry, for I will talk to you using the Stone of Voices."

"Okay," Jonathan said as he turned around and began walking into the Great Deku Tree. _I have a bad feeling about this,_ was all Jonathan could think to himself.

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In a tree near the clearing where the Great Deku Tree was standing, a man dressed in dark clothing watches as Jonathan walked into the Great Deku Tree. He smiled. _All as I have planned, _he thought to himself.

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Author's Notes: Yeah, we got some action coming next chapter. Jonathan will tackle his first dungeon. I just want to warn all the younger readers that the next chapter will contain a small amount of profanity, so be prepared for that. If any readers out there feel at any point that this story is starting to warrant an M rating, please tell me.

A new chapter comes next Friday. In the meantime, read and review please!


	7. Chapter 6: The Dangers of the Great Deku

Author's Notes: Well, one person reviewed the last chapter.

Internal Flame Zero: Yes, I agree the story so far is Teen, but there is stuff coming up that is definitely not for the little ones. I'm just not sure if I should keep it away from the younger teens as well. We'll see what happens. Thanks for your continuing support.

UPDATE: Because of an issue that Kouta Aburame brought to my attention, I went through this chapter again and changed it a little bit. The edit did not significantly alter the storyline, though, so it's just my obsession with getting things right that's at stake here. Thanks Kouta.

Enough of my senseless babbling. Back to the story!

**Chapter 6: The Dangers of the Great Deku Tree**

The moment Jonathan walked inside of the Great Deku Tree, he was in amazement. For about ten seconds, he could do nothing but look around at the structure that surrounded him. Most of the inside of the tree was, of course, the brown wood that the Great Deku Tree was made of. The wood seemed to be carved into "levels" of some sort. From the entrance to the tree, Jonathan could see three distinct levels above him. Jonathan also saw a circular hole of some sort right ahead of him in the ground. He walked toward this opening.

_The sheer size of this tree means that this tree must have been around for tens of thousands of years,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _Each new Deku Sprout takes over the tree structure as the life force of the old sprout fades._ In fact, this was exactly how the process worked in the Kokiri Forest for tens of thousands of years, long before the Hylians ever came to this land. And the fact that he had figured this out on his own so quickly would have greatly impressed Zelda, as few individuals in Hyrule had as much skill in deductive reasoning as he had.

Suddenly, a plant shot up from ground and tried to strike out at Jonathan's head. Jonathan jumped backward right in the nick of time, barely avoiding having his head chomped off by a man-eating plant of some kind. Immediately after regaining his footing, Jonathan broke the strap that held his shield onto his back and quickly slung the shield's arm straps onto his left arm. That done, he drew Alazon's sword with his right hand and began to study his opponent.

The man-eating plant had a flexible, slender, green stem that reached about six feet into the air. On top of the stem was a rather large blue bulb that had a mouth with razor-sharp teeth inside of them. Jonathan couldn't tell if the plant had eyes of some sort, but assumed that it did, for the plant struck out again when Jonathan tried to step toward it. Once Jonathan was out of its range, its stem immediately went stiff and the plant stood straight up, with its mouth pointing toward the sky, opening and closing rapidly and with a rather sickening clapping sound. Jonathan decided that the best course of action would be to bait it into biting, then rushing in for the kill while it recovered from its attack.

Jonathan stepped toward the plant with his shield raised. The plant immediately struck at him again. However, Jonathan successfully deflected the lunge with his shield. Then Jonathan made a lunge of his own, covering four feet of ground before the plant could regain its bearings for another strike. Jonathan stabbed at the base of the plant's stem with his sword, cutting the stem completely. Immediately, the man-eating plant died.

"One fiend down," Jonathan began, "A lot more to go." He then felt the Stone of Voices vibrating in his belt. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was glowing brightly white.

"Jonathan, can you hear me?" Jonathan heard Zelda's voice ask him.

"Yes, I can hear you," Jonathan responded into the stone, "I just ran into a man-eating plant of some sort."

"Did you kill it?" Zelda inquired.

"Yeah, I did," Jonathan answered.

"Take its stem. You're probably going to need it later," she ordered.

Jonathan looked back to the plant he had just killed and noticed that the stem was already turning brown. He used his sword to cut off about a four-foot-long section of the stem. That done, he put the stick into one of his three belt slots. "Okay, I did that," Jonathan told Zelda.

"The primary source of all the troubles inside the Great Deku Tree is most likely in the lowest levels of the tree that you can get to. Try to find a way down," Zelda ordered.

"I'm on it," Jonathan answered. Then he put the Stone of Voices back into the first slot in his belt and approached the hole in the ground, sheathing his sword as he approached.

The first thing he noticed about the hole was that it was covered by what appeared to be a huge amount of spiders' silk. Jonathan got down on his left knee and reached out with his right hand to feel the webbing that was covering the hole in the ground. He felt that the silk was not sticky, so he knew he could step on the mass of silk without getting stuck as some arachnid's next meal. He decided to test the strength of the webbing. He got back on his feet and slowly edged his way to the middle of the hole, finding the webbing more than capable of sustaining his weight. He then looked down through the holes in the webbing to see what was below him. Although he couldn't get a very good view, he was almost certain that there was a pool of water below the hole. And, considering that the water was about sixty feet below him, Jonathan was glad that the water was down there. He then made sure he was in the center of the webbing, and then began jumping up and down, attempting to break the webbing by his actions. However, after about fifteen seconds, it was quite obvious to Jonathan that there was no way that jumping would work. So he drew his sword again and tried to plunge it through the webbing. However, the blade just bounced off from the silk every time. Jonathan then tried to cut the webbing with the sword, but the webbing would need a very tough and sharp saw to cut it. The sword just wasn't going to do the job, as it didn't have a jagged edge.

Jonathan pulled out the Stone of Voices again. He looked at it and said, "Princess Zelda." The stone suddenly shined bright white again. "Princess Zelda, can you hear me?" Jonathan asked into the stone.

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Zelda felt her Stone of Voices vibrating inside the folds of her robes. She pulled it out and saw that it was shining white.

"Princess Zelda, can you hear me?" Zelda heard Jonathan's voice ask in the Hylian language.

"Yes Jonathan, I can hear you," Zelda answered.

"There is a hole in the ground inside the Great Deku Tree. It leads to a level below the ground. But there's a problem. The hole is covered by spider's silk. I can't force my way down, nor can my sword cut it," Jonathan reported, "There are some holes in the webbing, but none are big enough for me to squeeze through."

"There is a way through the webbing," Zelda said, "Jonathan, you must work your way up to the third level above you, then jump down onto the webbing. That ought to break it."

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Jonathan looked up and saw the level Zelda was talking about. "I see the level," he said, "I'll contact you when I get up there." He then put the stone back into his belt slot and began to look around for a way up onto the level above him. It didn't take long; he found a wooden ladder against a vertical wall that led up to the level above the ground. Jonathan climbed the ladder and worked his way around until he came to a rather large chest of some kind. The chest was made of wood and had a brass latch on it that could be opened easily. Jonathan disengaged the latch, and then looked inside the chest. He saw what appeared to be some sort of old parchment. He pulled out the parchment and figured out that it was a map of the Great Deku Tree.

"Nice," Jonathan said to himself as he studied the map. According to the map, the Great Deku Tree had five levels. The level he was on was labeled "2F". The level above him was called "3F," while the ground floor was "1F." The pool of water below the hole in the floor was "B1F," and then there was the lowest level, "B2F."

Jonathan carefully folded the map and slid it between his belt and his back. He then investigated the wall behind the chest. Jonathan noticed that it was covered with vines of some kind. He realized that he could easily climb up to the "3F" level using the vines. But just as he was about to start climbing the vines, he looked up and saw what appeared to be a huge spider of some sort. Jonathan was startled, but not frightened, for he thought that spiders were quite interesting. But this spider was really big. Its body was the size of a human skull and, coincidentally, had the appearance of a human skull and each of its eight legs was about eighteen inches long. _I wonder if it will attack me if I try to climb up,_ Jonathan wondered. He looked on the ground until he found a small stone. He picked up the stone and threw it against the wall near the spider. The spider immediately rushed toward the spot where the stone had made contact with the wall.

"Okay Jonathan, we are not doing that," Jonathan said quietly as he reached for his sword. Before he could unsheathe the sword, however, Jonathan noticed there were two other spiders on the wall higher up than the first spider. Jonathan decided against using the sword and contacted Zelda through the Stone of Voices again. "Princess Zelda, we have a little problem here," he stated.

"What is it?" Zelda asked.

"Well, I've found a way to the third level of the tree. Unfortunately, it is guarded by three large spiders with bodies in the shapes of skulls," Jonathan reported, "They will attack me the moment I get close to them."

"You'll have to get those spiders out of your way," Zelda stated, "There should be a door on that floor you are on now. At the other end of that door is a room with a chest in it. Inside the chest is a Fairy Slingshot. You can use that to get those spiders out of your way."

"Okay, I'll go and get it," Jonathan said. As he put the stone back in his belt, Jonathan continued walking in the direction he was going in before until he came to a brown wooden door at the end of the walkway. As he tried to figure out how to open the door, the door opened automatically as he approached it.

"Convenient," Jonathan said as he walked through the doorway into a small corridor. Then the door shut behind him suddenly. As Jonathan looked back, he saw that there were iron bars locking the door into the ground. "I should have realized that this was just too easy," he said to himself sarcastically.

Almost immediately, a small red bush ahead of Jonathan began to, for the lack of a better term, shiver. Jonathan then saw a small black creature of some sort rise out of the ground. It had red leaves on the top of its head. The creature saw Jonathan and then fired something out of his mouth. Jonathan jumped to his right and the object missed him. The creature turned to aim at him again.

"Not this time!" Jonathan snarled as he unsheathed his sword quickly and lunged at the creature. However, Jonathan was not fast enough, as the creature hid back underground with Jonathan unable to harm it.

Jonathan cautiously back off until the creature reappeared again and fired another object at Jonathan. This time, he intended to use the shield to stop the object from hitting him. However, when the projectile hit the shield, it ricocheted off of the shield. _Hey, maybe I can use this to my advantage,_ Jonathan realized as he angled his shield differently, waiting for the next projectile.

Sure enough, the creature shot out another projectile. This time, when the projectile hit the shield, it bounced right back at the creature who fired it. It never knew what hit him as the projectile knocked him out of his shrub and made him totally vulnerable to attack. It tried to scamper away from Jonathan, but it knew its time was up.

Jonathan then ran at the creature and, once he was about four feet away from it, he lunged at it with his sword. The sword went all the way through the creature's body, killing it instantly as its bodily fluids started flowing from the wound. Jonathan then pulled the sword out of its body and sheathed it again as the flow of fluid from the creature's body quickly slowed to a trickle. The death of the creature caused the iron bars covering the door behind him to rise into the wall again. It also did the same to iron bars that were covering the door that led to the room where the Fairy Slingshot was. Jonathan walked to this door, which opened automatically for him. He stepped through the doorway, the door closing behind him without the iron bars this time.

Jonathan looked around this new room for a moment. He noticed that he was standing in a small alcove that was on one side of the room. On the other side of the room was a platform at the same level as the alcove Jonathan was standing on. On the platform was another chest, about the same size as the one Jonathan had opened earlier. However, the gap between the alcove and the platform was about fifteen feet. But Jonathan also saw a square platform in between the two that would allow Jonathan to jump from his alcove to the platform with the chest on it, which Jonathan believed contained a Fairy Slingshot, whatever that was.

Jonathan jumped about three feet ahead of him, easily landing on the platform in the middle of the room. Without warning, the platform began to shake violently. Jonathan immediately ran over to the other side of the shaking platform and jumped onto the platform with the chest on it. Just as he landed, the shaking platform collapsed into the floor twenty feet below Jonathan.

"Perfect," Jonathan said sarcastically, "Just perfect." He then turned his attention to the chest in front of him. It had the same locking mechanism as the chest that contained the map of the Great Deku Tree. He disengaged the lock, then opened the chest and looked inside. However, instead of a Fairy Slingshot, he found something more powerful, along with being much more familiar to Jonathan.

"A bow and a quiver of arrows," Jonathan said as he pulled both items out of the chest and looked at them. The bow was of a simple design, merely a curved, flexible piece of wood. There was a piece of twine attached to one of the ends with the other end having a large knot at its very end. Jonathan saw that the opposite end of the bow had a notch where the knotted end of the twine would go to string the bow. The twine was about two-and-a-half feet long, while the length of the wood piece was about four feet. The leather quiver contained 25 arrows. Each arrow was made entirely of wood and had a sharp point at one end, designed to drill through flesh as much as the shaft could. And each shaft also had three feathers on the end opposite of the tip. Those feathers would force the arrow to spin when fired, giving the arrow much higher accuracy. The quiver also had a leather strap attached to it. Jonathan put the strap over him so that the strap rested on his left shoulder and that the quiver was on his back. That way, he could reach back with his right hand to grab another arrow. "This is nice," Jonathan said, "Now, I just need a way out of here." He turned around to see what he could do.

He looked at the wall below the alcove on the other side of the room. He saw neither a ladder nor vines nor anything else Jonathan could use to climb back into the alcove from the ground level. Jonathan was about to call Zelda for help when he looked above the alcove on the other side of the room. There, he saw what appeared to be a ladder on the wall above the alcove. _Maybe if I could disturb that ladder enough,_ Jonathan thought, _It might just fall down and give me a way out of this room._ First, Jonathan placed the end of the bow with the twine attached to it on the ground beneath him. While he grabbed the knotted end of the twine in his left hand, he pushed on the notched end of the bow, forcing it closer to the ground. Once he had bent the bow enough, Jonathan was able to place the knotted end of the twine into the notch, stringing the bow, which held its curved shape once he stopped pushing down on it now. Jonathan then grabbed an arrow from his quiver and put in into his bow. He pulled back on the arrow and the string and aimed for the ladder, trying to keep his aiming steady. He then let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit a rung of the ladder, causing it to shake enough to make it fall down to the floor below it.

"Yes!" Jonathan exclaimed as he pumped his fist, "I love it when a plan comes together!" He then jumped down to the ground below him. Securing the bow into the last slot in his belt, Jonathan walked over to the ladder and climbed up it into the alcove. He then walked back through the door, through the short corridor, and back into the main chamber of the Great Deku Tree. He then pulled out his Stone of Voices and contacted Zelda again.

"Yes Jonathan?" Zelda asked.

"I found the item in the chest, but it wasn't a slingshot. It was a bow and a quiver of arrows," Jonathan said.

"Wow, you are the lucky one, aren't you?" Zelda teased playfully.

"Princess Zelda, if I didn't know any better, I would think you are flirting with me," Jonathan retorted. Both of them had a good laugh.

"All right then," Zelda began, "Get up to the level above you."

"Got it," Jonathan said as he put the stone back into his belt. He then pulled out his bow and walked over to the wall with the vines. Sure enough, the large spiders were still there. Jonathan pulled another arrow out of his quiver and aimed at the spider that was farthest away from him. The arrow flew to its mark, killing the spider and causing it to fall to the ground which Jonathan stood on. Jonathan successfully completed the process for the other two spiders and the wall was clear.

"Okay, I've got 21 arrows left," Jonathan stated as he strapped the bow away again and began to climb up the vines on the wall to get up to "3F", "It's a good thing dad taught me how to use a bow back when I was a kid." It took him about one minute and his arms and legs were getting a little tired, but he made it up. Once up there, Jonathan noticed another door that would slide up and let him through automatically. He walked to this door, and then walked through the doorway.

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"Flirting with him?" Impa repeated what Jonathan had said.

Zelda giggled a little. "Maybe," she replied.

Impa shook her head. "I'm still not letting my eyes of him," she said.

Zelda nodded as she thought, _If you were doing that before, you'll certainly do it even more so from now on._

----------

"Nice! Now I know exactly where I am!" Jonathan exclaimed as he examined a compass that showed him on the map he had exactly where he was. He then flipped through the sheets of the map and found that there was now a small skull drawn on the map of "B2F." "I wonder what that means," Jonathan said as he folded up the map again and put the map back between his belt and his back and put the compass inside of his quiver of arrows. He then jumped down onto the floor in between the two platforms, quickly walked over to the other platform, climbed up the vines on the wall to get back onto the platform he entered the room on, and then walked out of the room and back into the main chamber of the Great Deku Tree.

Jonathan now noticed that there was a lot of webbing along the inner side of the walkway of "3F". In fact, the entire inner edge of the walkway was covered with webbing except for three spots. As Jonathan approached the closest of the opening, he thought he heard a scratching sound of some sort above him. He immediately backed away just as a huge spider fell where he was standing just a moment before. "Oh shit! And I thought the others were big!" Jonathan exclaimed. This spider was bigger than Jonathan himself was. Like the smaller spiders, its body was a skull.

Jonathan unsheathed his sword and swung and hit the spider. However, the spider took no damage and ended up swinging around like a pendulum for a few seconds. _That's not going to work,_ Jonathan thought to himself. He waited as the spider stopped swinging to think of what to do next.

Then, all of a sudden, the spider turned around, showing its black, soft underbelly to Jonathan. _This is my chance!_ Jonathan thought as he slashed at the spider again. This time, the strike did some damage, as the spider shook as if it was having a spasm of some sort. It immediately turned around as Jonathan raised his shield to defend himself from possible retaliation. Instead, the spider turned around again. _What the hell is this thing doing?_ Jonathan wondered as he slashed at the spider again. This time, it was fatal. The spider collapsed to the ground beneath him, squirmed around a little, and then stopped moving.

Jonathan sheathed his sword again and walked over to the edge and looked down. "Oh, hell no!" he exclaimed, "Hell no! I'm not jumping that far down!" He pulled out his Stone of Voices again. "Zelda, I can't do this!" he said quickly.

"Can't do what?" Zelda asked.

"I can't jump that far down onto that hole," Jonathan explained, "What if I miss?"

"You won't, trust me," Zelda assured.

Jonathan looked down at the webbing again. "Okay, I'll do it," he said reluctantly.

"Just keep your feet under you and you'll be fine," Zelda said.

"If you say so," Jonathan said as he put the stone back and took a deep breath. He then jumped off the platform, aiming to hit the middle of the hole. He landed right where he aimed for. At first, it seemed that the webbing would hold, but then Jonathan heard a sudden ripping sound and he was falling toward the water below him. Jonathan made sure that he kept his feet under him as he fell and hit the water. His feet touched the bottom of the pool, and then pushed his body back to the surface of the water. "WOOOO!" was the only sound he could make as his head got above the surface. He then swam over to a dry platform near him and looked around this new area.

Next to him was another platform with an unlit torch on it. Next to that was another brown floor switch. In the other direction on the platform he was standing on, Jonathan saw yet another web. Jonathan pulled out his map and checked it. It appeared that the way down to floor "B2F" was through another hole in this room, but that hole was out of reach on the platform on the other side of the room. However, Jonathan saw that there was a way around to that side, but the way was blocked by that web on his platform.

Jonathan put the map away again and jumped onto the platform with the unlit torch. Jonathan then stepped on the switch. Jonathan then heard the crackling of a fire. He turned around and saw that the torch was now lit with a fire.

"If only I could get that over to the web over there," Jonathan said. Then, he suddenly remembered the stick he had from earlier. He pulled it out from his belt and put the end of it into the flame until it was lit. Jonathan then jumped back onto the platform with the webbing on it and walked over to the webbing and put the burning stick to it, burning away the barrier. That done, Jonathan stuck the end of his stick into the water in the room, putting out the fire. He then put the stick back onto his belt and then walked through the door that was behind the webbing.

As he walked into this small room, Jonathan saw another small shrub in the middle of the room. "Oh, not again!" Jonathan said as he looked back at the door. Sure enough, the door had been barred. Jonathan put up his shield. Another one of those creatures appeared from the shrub and shot a projectile at Jonathan. The shield deflected the shot back at it and nailed the shrub creature. It squealed, and then said, "I give up!"

"What?" Jonathan asked as he looked at the creature from behind the shield. This shrub creature was bigger than the one from earlier. It also had green leaves instead of red.

"I surrender!" exclaimed the creature, "I'll give you a little secret."

"What is it?" Jonathan asked.

"Two, three and one," the creature said as it burrowed back into the ground again.

"What?" Jonathan asked dumbfounded, "Two, three, one? What the hell does that mean?" Jonathan looked at the door leading out of this room and noticed a gray diamond above it with an open eye in the middle. "That's interesting," Jonathan said as he pulled out his bow and loaded in another arrow and aim at the eye. He let the arrow fly and it hit the eye, causing the bars in front of that door to go up.

"I'd better watch this thing," Jonathan said bemusedly as he walked toward the door, "or I'll put an eye out."

----------

"I wonder what's taking him so long," Impa stated impatiently. Jonathan had been inside the Great Deku Tree for about an hour now.

"Give the guy a chance," Zelda retorted, "It's not like he has been here for very long. Moreover, these dungeons can really be complicated to get through."

Impa folded her arms across her chest. "I still think he's taking too much time," she said.

Zelda was about to say something in response when she felt her Stone of Voices vibrating again. "Yes Jonathan?" she asked.

"I have made it down to 'B2F', which the map says is the lowest level of the Great Deku Tree," Jonathan said.

"Good," Zelda stated, "Jonathan, be careful."

"I just faced three of these bush creatures," Jonathan continued, "Turned out I had to defeat them in a certain order. Luckily, another one of those things gave me a hint about them earlier. I don't have a very good feeling about what is behind this next door."

"Just be careful Jonathan, and I'm sure you'll do well," Zelda said as she put her stone away again.

"Now, lets see how he does against Gohma herself," Impa said.

----------

Jonathan walked through the large door, which shut behind him. Jonathan looked back. "Barred again," he said as he pulled out his sword, ready for a fight. He walked a little way into the room he was now in and looked around on the ground level. "I know there's something here, though I can't see anything," Jonathan said as he started to look up at the ceiling of the room. There, he saw a green circle of some sort. Suddenly, that circle began to move toward him. Jonathan moved out of the way just as a huge amount of silk landed right where he was once standing.

Looking again, Jonathan saw what appeared to be the outline of a gigantic spider, at least 50 feet long. Jonathan sheathed his sword and pulled out his bow and loaded an arrow into it. He tried to aim at the spider's eye, which was the only part of the spider he could see clearly, but it kept moving. That is, until the eye changed its color to red. Once that happened, the spider was stationary.

_Now! Now is my chance!_ Jonathan thought as he fired an arrow at the eye. The arrow flew true and hit the spider's eye. The spider then came crashing to the ground on its back, unable to move and unable to defend itself. Jonathan quickly ran toward the spider, putting his bow away, and then pulled out his sword. Once he got to the spider, it was a relatively easy matter for Jonathan to cut off the monster's legs, one by one. He hacked one leg off after another, the monster's brown blood spraying from the stumps left behind from the kiss of sharpened steel.

After Jonathan had cut off the last of the legs, he realized that the monster would bleed to death shortly. However, Jonathan wanted to do more damage to the creature. The adrenaline flowing through his body demanded more action be taken, and his mind was commanding him to use that action to utterly destroy this beast. He walked around to the front of the spider, to the eye that now looked frantically around the room. It then looked at Jonathan as he held his sword like a dagger with both of his hands firmly grasping the hilt and drove it right into the center of the eye. A large amount of brown liquid squirted out of the eye and onto Jonathan, but he didn't care. Only his enemy mattered now, and he had slain his enemy and had saved an ally, or so he hoped. He pulled the sword, now covered with the same brown liquid, out of the eye and sheathed the sword once more. Within minutes, the monster stopped moving completely.

Then, Jonathan saw what appeared to be a small blue circle glowing on the floor nearby. Before he could investigate it, though, he received a call from Zelda.

"Jonathan? What happened?" Zelda asked frantically.

"I destroyed the primary source of evil inside this place. Will the Great Deku Tree be okay?" Jonathan asked.

"We're not sure yet," Zelda answered, "But you've done all you can."

"How the hell do I get out of here now?" Jonathan inquired.

"You see a blue circle of some kind down there?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, I do," Jonathan answered.

"Step into that, and it should bring you back outside here with us," Zelda instructed.

"Alright then, I'll see you in just a moment," Jonathan responded as he put the stone away. Then he walked into the blue circle.

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Author's Notes: Yeah, this was a rather long chapter. Originally, I wanted to describe the ENTIRE journey through the Great Deku Tree, but then I realized how long this chapter would be if I actually did that. So I scrapped that plan for the other dungeons in this story.

By the way, if you thought this chapter was overly long, there are chapters to come that a good deal longer than this. But don't worry, the next chapter is a shorter one.

And yes, I am using the dungeons from Ocarina of Time in this story.

Well, that's all until next week. Read and review please.


	8. Chapter 7: The Mysterious Orizon

Author's Notes: Another week, another chapter of the story. Thanks to all of you who reviewed in the past week.

Alex Hemming: Thanks for your support and your suggestion, although I'm not quite sure how I would have left a hook at the end of the Prologue. Actually, now that I think about it, I probably could have tried something that would fit with the story, but it would have spoiled later events. Thanks for your input, though, and I hope you keep the suggestions coming.

Cimar of Turalis: Thank you for your support.

fatal whispher: Thanks for your support, but you will get a new chapter once a week. No more.

This chapter is rather short compared to the last one. Also, if you find the battle scenes in this story a bit... lacking, don't be afraid to embellish them to your liking as you read. Remember, I'm a storyteller, not an author. Well, with that out of the way, lets continue with this story.

**Chapter 7: The Mysterious Orizon**

When the blue glow around Jonathan ceased, he saw that he was back in the first room of the Great Deku Tree. _That's weird,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _Didn't Zelda tell me I would reappear outside the tree?_ Jonathan took the Stone of Voices out of his belt again.

"Princess Zelda, I'm still inside the tree," Jonathan said as he waited for a response. He got nothing. "Princess Zelda?"

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"Why hasn't he appeared yet?" Impa asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure," Zelda responded as she pulled out her Stone of Voices. "Jonathan, where are you?" she asked and waited for a response. She got none. "Jonathan?"

"Something's not right here," Impa stated, now with concern instead of annoyance.

----------

"Zelda, please answer me," Jonathan said into his stone.

"Oh, you won't be talking to your companions for a while, Jonathan," Jonathan heard a deep masculine voice speak from behind him.

Jonathan quickly turned around and unsheathed his sword. He saw a rather tall man (about six feet, three inches tall) wearing a dark purple cloak that covered him from head to toe and hid his face in shadow. Jonathan had a bad feeling about this man. "Who the hell are you?" Jonathan asked, "And how the hell do you know my name?"

The cloaked figure laughed. "I have been watching you, Jonathan. And my name is Orizon."

"Orizon?" Jonathan asked, "You mean the Orizon who killed Princess Zelda's mother?"

Obviously, that question struck a nerve in Orizon. "I did not kill her!" he answered angrily.

"You brought Ganondorf back from the dead," Jonathan accused, "And he killed Zelda's mother. You are responsible."

"If only you knew the true relationship between Princess Zelda and me, you wouldn't have accused me of what you did," Orizon stated angrily.

_Related? Him and Zelda? No way!_ Jonathan thought. "Prepare to die, scum!" Jonathan exclaimed. He then ran at Orizon, screaming loud enough to wake the dead.

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"Jonathan? Please answer me," Zelda said into her stone.

"It's no use," Impa said as she pointed at the entrance of the Great Deku Tree, "Look!"

Zelda looked up and saw what appeared to be a purple barrier blocking the way into the tree.

"Orizon…" Zelda whispered, "He was here all along!"

"I haven't trained Jonathan to deal with magical attacks yet," Impa informed her niece, "This may not end well for him."

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Orizon was easily able to avoid Jonathan's attack by jumping to the left. He then retaliated with a blast of dark magic. Jonathan was barely able to get his shield up in time to block the attack. He then got his first look at Orizon's face, as the explosion of air from the magic orb blew air in all directions, blowing the hood of his robe off of his head. His face was pale and covered with wrinkles, especially on his forehead. His nose was rather long and pointed. His ears were about a foot long and were parallel with the ground, like Impa's. His hair was white and long, reaching down past his shoulder blades. The blood red eyes gave Orizon's race away. "So, you are a Sheikah, huh?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"That's right," Orizon answered as he looked at Jonathan again, "And you are not of this world, I can see that."

"That doesn't matter, I'm still going to kick your ass!" Jonathan said through clenched teeth as he tried to attack Orizon again. Once again, Orizon simply jumped to the side.

"You can't win," Orizon said, "You can't kill what you can't hurt."

"Shows what you know," Jonathan said as he rushed at Orizon again.

Once again, Orizon jumped to the side. But this time, Jonathan dropped his sword on the ground and pulled out his bow. Quickly putting an arrow in it, he fired at Orizon, but he knew his aim was off. However, Orizon was caught off-guard by the arrow.

"Not bad," Orizon said with a smile, "You are more cunning than I thought."

"The next one won't miss," Jonathan replied as he picked up his sword again.

"I'm sure it wouldn't, so I won't let you fire it," Orizon said as he fired another blast of dark magic. Jonathan rolled to his right to avoid the blast, then loaded another arrow into his bow and fired at Orizon. This time, the arrow was on target, but Orizon was ready for it. He quickly swayed to the left to dodge the arrow.

"You want more?" Jonathan asked menacingly as he put another arrow in his bow.

"No, I have seen enough," Orizon said as he put his hood back on, "You show much promise, Jonathan. We shall meet again. I promise you that." Then a huge cloud of purple smoke hid Orizon from Jonathan's view. Then there was a loud sound in the room and the smoke quickly cleared. However, Orizon was gone.

"Coward," Jonathan muttered as his Stone of Voices once again vibrated and glowed. "Yes, Princess Zelda?" he asked.

"Did you see Orizon?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, I did," Jonathan answered, "How did you know?"

"A purple barrier was blocking the way out of the tree, but it is gone now. Let's get back to the Forest Temple," Zelda responded.

"Hold on," Jonathan stated, "Orizon told me that you and he are related. Is that true?"

"Don't worry about what he said, just get out here," Zelda responded.

"Okay," Jonathan replied as he put the stone away and walked back outside.

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"I must thank thee and thy efforts, Jonathan," the Great Deku Tree said to Jonathan, "For thy hast saved me from a terrible fate. In return for thy efforts, I bequeath this, the Kokiri Emerald, unto thee."

Jonathan then caught sight of a green glimmer in the sunlight from just above the "eyes" of the Great Deku Tree. This glimmer moved closer to Jonathan until Jonathan could finally see what it was. It was a large gem of some kind, encrusted with green emeralds. The gem was large enough that Jonathan needed two hands to hold it. But when he did feel the Kokiri Emerald, Jonathan almost immediately realized that there was some sort of magical power inside the gems.

"Thank you, Great Deku Tree," Jonathan replied with a bow.

"Well, I believe it is time to head back to the Forest Temple," Impa said.

Jonathan immediately turned around. "I'll never make it," he said, "I feel like my legs are going to give out on me."

"Oh, we're not walking back," Zelda said with a giggle as she pulled something round out of the folds of her robes over her breasts.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked as he examined the small item.

"This is the Ocarina of Time, a family heirloom," Zelda replied. "Stand close to me and I'll be able to warp us back to the Forest Temple."

Jonathan walked next to Zelda. "Okay, let's try this out," he said with a shrug.

Zelda closed her eyes and put the ocarina to her lips and began to play a tune of some kind. Jonathan quickly realized that the tune was a minuet of some sort. Once Zelda finished the tune, Jonathan's body, along with the bodies of Zelda and Impa, dissolved into green sparks in the air and were quickly whisked away to the Triforce platform in front of the Forest Temple. There, the green sparks came together again to reform the three individuals.

"So, what do you think?" Zelda asked Jonathan with a grin.

"That's a great way to get around," Jonathan said as he wiped his forehead of sweat, "But, honestly, I'm exhausted."

"That's to be expected," Impa stated.

"Just give me the Kokiri Emerald and you can go to your room for some rest," Zelda said as she extended both of her hands toward Jonathan.

"Okay, I'm sure you know what to do with it," Jonathan replied as he gave Zelda the emerald and then walked into the Forest Temple toward his room. Jonathan was so exhausted from his trek through the Great Deku Tree that the only thing he could do once he got to his room was to collapse onto his bed and almost immediately fell asleep, even though it was only just past midday.

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"He did very well, I think," Impa said after Jonathan had left.

"That's high praise from you, Impa," Zelda stated.

"Do you think Orizon told Jonathan the truth about him and you?" Impa asked.

"No. If he did, why would Jonathan have asked me about the matter like that?" Zelda asked rhetorically, "He told him something, but not everything. That is Orizon's way."

"So, will you tell him about your relationship with Orizon?" Impa inquired.

"I can't do that," Zelda answered, "Not yet. If I did, Jonathan would be much less willing to fight Orizon. And I'm sure those two will meet again sometime in the near future under less than pleasant circumstances." She then began to walk into the Forest Temple.

Impa followed her, as was her duty by birth. Both of them had to meet with the King of Red Lions now. For his allies now had one piece of three needed to unlock Hyrule's savior.

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Author's Notes: You may find that over the course of the story, Orizon's personality and mannerisms may change a bit too radically. All I can say for now is that the intended plotline of the second story in this trilogy underwent a huge change. This change would make the second story much easier to write and have a very nice connection with this story, but required a change in Orizon's motivations.

The next chapter is kinda funky, as I think I was trying to make a little fun of the whole action/adventure genre. You'll see what I mean when you read it.

Well, I think that's about all for now. Read and review, please. And catch the new chapter next week.


	9. Chapter 8: Trouble on Death Mountain

Author's Notes: Thanks to those of you who reviewed during the past week.

Kanamay: Thank you for your support, but this story will only be updated once a week. Hey, it beats waiting for months on end, right?

Well, I'll be going back to college soon, I hope. I say "I hope" because the financial people at Holy Cross are being total jerks to me right now. I really do want to go back to school, but if this situation isn't resolved within the next week or two, that just won't be happening.

Well, enough about my problems. Back to the story!

**Chapter 8: Trouble on Death Mountain**

It had been a week since Jonathan had destroyed Ganondorf's forces inside the Great Deku Tree, and it was obvious to King Alazon that Ganondorf was concerned about the destruction of Gohma. The king's spies reported that Ganondorf had ordered more patrols and sentries on the areas he controlled. He had also increased the bounty on King Alazon's head from 5,000 to 15,000 rupees. And Princess Zelda's bounty had gone from 7,500 to 20,000 rupees. However, as long as Ganondorf's forces never penetrated entered Kokiri Forest or found any of the "shortcuts" into the Lost Woods, Alazon and his forces would remain undetected. And the very nature of the forest made that a practical guarantee.

Now King Alazon received a message from Darnuia, the chieftain of Goron's City. Though allied with Ganondorf, Darnuia told King Alazon in a letter that he would be willing to switch his alliances if Alazon could help him. Alazon read about Darnuia's situation and had called for Zelda, Impa and Jonathan this morning. As King Alazon heard the chamber doors open, he sat down in his throne, the letter in his right hand.

After Jonathan had paid his respects to the King of Red Lions, the king said, "We have a golden opportunity to gain a new ally."

Impa looked very interested in the prospect; while Zelda was obviously excited. "Who is it, Father?" Zelda asked quickly.

"The Gorons," King Alazon responded.

"Oh," Zelda said with disappointment in her voice while Impa looked at the ground with an annoyed look on her face.

"Hey, guys, we've got new allies," Jonathan said in an optimistic way, "Why are you so glum?"

"Gorons do not fight wars," Alazon explained, "However, the chieftain of the Gorons, Darnuia, has sent me a letter, indicating that he is requesting our help. This bodes very well for us in another way, as Darnuia has another one of those Sacred Stones that we need."

"The Goron's Ruby, if I remember correctly," Impa stated.

"Yes, that is the one," Alazon replied, "Now, you will be headed to Goron's City immediately. Darnuia has also told me that he has sent a similar letter of request to Ganondorf and will give the Goron's Ruby to whomever helps him."

"Well, what are we supposed to do for this Darnuia?" Jonathan asked.

"You'll find out when you reach Goron's City. Now, prepare yourselves and leave me," Alazon stated.

The three of them bowed to the king and left the chamber. They all got together again at the Triforce platform just outside the Forest Temple.

"Princess Zelda, who are the Gorons?" Jonathan asked as they made their way into the Lost Woods.

"The Gorons are a race of creatures of Hyrule," Zelda began explaining, "Their diet consists solely of rocks. They are large, light-brown creatures that are very peaceful, but rather lacking in intelligence. However, when provoked, the Gorons are quite capable of defending themselves, so be careful not to anger them."

"Here we are," Impa said as they reached what appeared to be a stone doorway carved into one of the rock walls in the Lost Woods.

"This is the way to Goron's City?" Jonathan asked.

"It is a shortcut to Goron's City," Impa said as she led the way into the passageway. Jonathan and Zelda followed and soon found the place ahead of them was very different from a forest.

Now the ground was made of dirt and rock and was brown. In fact, except for what appeared to be bombs growing out of some small plants, there was no vegetation at all in this cavern of different levels of walkways. Around the three adventurers were what appeared to be large rocks on the ground. These rocks were mostly light brown, but had a wide stripe of silver on the top. Jonathan approached a nearby one.

_Bombs from the dirt?_ Jonathan pondered to himself as he approached the boulder, _This place gets more and more strange by the minute._

"Uh, Jonathan, I wouldn't get too close to that," Zelda warned.

Before Jonathan could turn back to inquire, the "rock" suddenly sprang to life, a large creature rising off the ground. Jonathan yelled a little and fell backwards from the occurrence. "What the hell is that thing?" Jonathan asked, short on breath and starting to panic.

"That is a Goron," Zelda explained as Impa walked up to the creature that stood at more than 9 feet tall.

"We have been sent here by the King of Red Lions, His Excellency Alazon," Impa stated.

"Ah yes, Darnuia has been expecting you," the Goron said in his (at least Jonathan thought it to be a male) deep voice, "Follow me." He then curled into a ball and began rolling away at a high velocity which the three travelers could barely keep up with. He took them down to the lowest level of Goron's City, where he stopped rolling, uncurled himself, and then knocked on a nearby stone panel.

"Who is it?" a deep voice rumbled inside the wall.

"Three people are here to see you from King Alazon, sir," the Goron answered.

The stone panel was then raised into the wall. "Let them in," the voice said.

"Go on in," the Goron said as he moved out of the way of the other three.

They walked into the room and saw a large Goron that was more than 10 feet tall. He also had what appeared to be gray, spiky "hair." He seemed upset about something. "So, you have been sent by King Alazon?" Darnuia asked.

"Yes," Zelda answered as she stepped forward to great the Goron chieftain, "We received your letter and came as soon as possible."

"And just who are you?" Darnuia inquired.

"I am the Princess of Red Lions, Zelda," Zelda began. She then gestured to Impa and said, "This is my attendant, Impa." Then she pointed to Jonathan. "And this is Jonathan, a faithful and courageous warrior," she ended.

"A warrior?" Darnuia asked as he approached Jonathan, his eyes looking him over carefully, "That is exactly what I need right now."

Jonathan looked up at Darnuia's face. "What happens to be your problem, friend?" Jonathan asked, adding a smile with the last word.

Darnuia suddenly looked confused. "I told you what my problem was in the letter, didn't I?" he asked, "I can't be forgetting stuff like that yet; I'm only 200 years old."

"My father didn't tell us what the problem was," Zelda explained.

_ONLY 200 years old!_ Jonathan thought bewildered, _Exactly how long are these guys supposed to live for?_

"Oh, I get it," Darnuia said as he walked back to his stone chair, "I guess I'll tell you myself. I have a son named Link. He was lured into the Fire Temple inside the Death Mountain Crater and now he is lost. I've sent in search parties, but they can't find him at all. I'm beginning to fear the worst. Please find Link, or any remains you can find of him, and I will give you this." He then pulled out from behind his chair a large gem of sorts. It was encrusted with rubies and even Jonathan sensed the magical powers inside of it.

"Is that the Goron's Ruby?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, it is," Darnuia answered.

"Then I will look for your son in the Fire Temple," Jonathan proclaimed boldly, "Or die trying."

"Thank you, Jonathan," Darnuia began, "But first, I must give you two things before you can venture into the temple. First is this Bomb Bag, filled with 15 bombs," Darnuia said as he pulled out a large sack of some sort and gave it to Jonathan.

"Thank you," Jonathan said as he looked inside the bag. The bombs were small and had short fuses on them. He also saw small pieces of flint inside the bag, which would allow him to light the bombs. He strapped the bag onto his belt.

"And secondly is this Goron's Tunic," Darnuia said as he showed Jonathan a red-colored version of the clothing he was wearing, "These clothes will not burn inside the Fire Temple."

Jonathan took the clothes and said, "Okay, everyone out while I change."

"Jonathan, just change right now," Zelda said slightly exasperated, "I mean you are wearing something underneath, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but…" Jonathan began, and then realized that it would be to no avail, "Okay, you win." He then began to unbuckle his belt.

As Zelda watched Jonathan take off his outer vestments, she felt a strange feeling inside of her that she had never felt before. It made her feel guilty, yet at the same time, it made her feel good in a way she had never really felt before. This wasn't happiness, although it came close. It was something . . . different. She kept looking at Jonathan as he took off his green-colored clothes, then put on his red-colored clothes. She didn't even notice she was looking at him so intently until Jonathan had finished dressing and asked, "How do I look?"

"What?" Zelda said suddenly as she shook her head a little bit, having been broken out of her trance.

Impa simply folded her arms and said, "I am still not impressed."

Jonathan chuckled. "I didn't think you would be," he said, "But what do you think Zelda?"

"Uh, you look nice. Yeah," Zelda spat out quickly with a smile. Actually, preferred the green tunic over the red one, but for some reason really wanted neither to be on Jonathan. She quickly tried to move that thought out of her mind.

Jonathan looked at Zelda for a moment, and then replied, "Okay. Let's go."

_That was strange,_ he thought.

Jonathan led the way into the Death Mountain Crater. He felt intense heat all around him, but he deduced that his new tunic was keeping the temperature around him cool enough so that he could endure it. They walked up to a bridge. "Oh hell," Jonathan remarked, "The bridge is out."

"There is an item back in my village nearby that should help you across this gap," Impa said, "I'll go get it." But before she walked away from Jonathan and Zelda, she turned back, pointed at Jonathan and remarked, "If I find you've laid one finger on her, I'll make you regret it."

"I won't touch her," Jonathan said with raised hands, an indication of his submission to her will. Impa then left the two.

Jonathan sighed. "She is way too paranoid," Jonathan said after Impa was well outside the range at which even she could hear him.

"Perhaps," Zelda replied, "But it never hurts to be a little cautious."

"Zelda, I noticed you couldn't help but stare at me as I changed my clothing back there," Jonathan brought up.

"I'm sorry I offended you," Zelda replied immediately, thinking that it was impolite to stare at others in Jonathan's culture. She was right, but Jonathan himself didn't mind in this case.

"No, I'm not offended," Jonathan corrected quickly, "I'm just curious as to why you couldn't help but stare at me back there."

Zelda tried to come up with a reason for about 15 seconds, and then decided to be honest and said, "For some reason, it was making me feel good in a guilty sort of way. You know what I mean?"

_Oh, I know exactly what you mean,_ Jonathan thought with a smile crossing his face, _You are interested in me._ "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. He decided not to make it clear yet that he was also interested in her.

Zelda then giggled and smiled. "Jonathan, have you ever been in love before?" she asked, almost out of the blue.

"Well, yeah, a couple of time," Jonathan responded, "But it never really turned out to be anything that lasted for that long."

Zelda was perplexed by that response. "How did it not turn out to be anything that lasted?" she asked. From what she understood, love was something that could withstand anything and everything, even the tortures of time itself.

"Well, I guess the girls I have fallen for were never really meant for me," Jonathan replied, "Sure, these relationships had their good moments, but I guess I didn't want a lasting relationship at those times."

"Why not?" Zelda inquired.

"Well, I was young then, but I still am young now, I would like to think," Jonathan said, "But there were plenty of good-looking girls around, so I figured it didn't make sense at the time to have a lasting relationship with just one. However, now that I'm here, that might have to change." Jonathan looked at Zelda. "Why are you asking me these questions?" he finally asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to know more about you," she replied as a half-truth, "Will you stay in this world after this adventure of yours is over?"

"I'll have to think about it," Jonathan answered after a short pause, "But right now, I would stay here."

"Why would you not go back to your world?" Zelda inquired.

"Well, this land is just so perfect, so pristine," Jonathan replied, "My world is a wasteland in comparison. And . . . "

Zelda looked at Jonathan. "Yes?" she asked.

"Zelda, if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell Impa what I said?" Jonathan asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"Well, Zelda, the thing is that in all my life, I have never met someone as beautiful as you are," Jonathan proclaimed.

"Do you really mean that?" Zelda asked, although she knew already that he really did.

"I absolutely do mean that," Jonathan answered.

"Oh Jonathan, you are so sweet," Zelda said as she walked over to Jonathan and hugged him. Jonathan embraced her as well, not believing that this was actually happening. _A princess and a guy like me,_ he thought with a smile, _Eat your heart out, Solo!_

Suddenly, Zelda said, "Impa is coming back," as she broke away from Jonathan and stood a good distance away from him when Impa came back bearing an item for Jonathan.

"This is a Hookshot," Impa explained as she handed over a small device to Jonathan, "It will help you across that gap. Just press and hold that button and you'll see what happens."

"Okay, thanks," Jonathan said as he walked over to the bridge and shot the Hookshot's point at the wooden posts on the other side of the gap. A metal hook attached to a chain came out of the device and flew into one of the posts, embedding itself there. Once the hook was secured, it automatically reeled Jonathan to the other side of the gap.

"That was so cool!" Jonathan exclaimed as he turned back to Zelda and Impa, "I assume that the doorway over there is the entrance to the Fire Temple, right?"

"That's right, go on in," Zelda said.

Jonathan then ran into the doorway.

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"Did he touch you?" Impa asked.

"No, he didn't," Zelda lied, "We had a nice conversation, though."

Impa looked at Zelda. "About what?" she inquired.

"Oh, nothing really," Zelda lied again.

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Author's Notes: Another transition chapter, and this one is not very well written, so I'm sorry for that. Next chapter should be better. You may also notice that I am starting to parody the whole action-adventure genre a little. This won't be a huge distraction, although I will be making fun of how pathetically easy Ocarina of Time is.

Also, a bit of a swear warning for next chapter. There will be some foul language in the next chapter. Take whatever precautions you want for this.

New chapter next Friday, as usual. Until then, read and review, everyone.


	10. Chapter 9: Through the Fire and the Flam

Author's Notes: Hey, thanks to everyone who reviewed in the past week.

xbluxmoonx: Hey, just trying to make sure everyone understands what's going on here. Thanks for your encouragement, and I hope it continues.

Infernal Flame Zero: Hey, I did my research, although I think I made up quite a few things about the Zora later on that simply aren't correct. I'll explain when we get to that point what I mean. The conversation part is just my style of writing. And thanks for reminding me about the Han Solo reference; I completely forgot about it.

Well, here it is. My last update before I heard back to college. I will continue to update this story as well as work on the Harry Potter fanfic as much as my free time permits me to.

**Chapter 9: Through the Fire and the Flames**

Jonathan entered the first room of the Fire Temple and saw a huge staircase in front of him. On either side of the staircase was a statue standing against the back wall of the staircase. Jonathan also saw what appeared to be birds that were on fire flying around the room. He decided not to bother with them as he ran up the staircase. He then saw a door to his right and his left. The door to his right had chains stretched across it with a padlock in the center of the door. Jonathan made a dash for the door and tried to open it. The doorknob turned just fine, but the door would not budge.

"Damn! I'm going to need a key for this thing!" Jonathan exclaimed through gritted teeth as he turned around and ran through the other door just as those flaming birds were about the reach his location.

In the next room, Jonathan was on top of one of several platforms that were elevated above the lava in the bottom of the room. Across the room, Jonathan saw a large door that was also chained up by a large and extremely elaborate padlock in the middle of the door. He looked to his left and saw what appeared to be a jail cell of some kind with a floor switch right in front of it. Jonathan jumped from his platform to the one to his left and stepped on the switch, causing the cell to open for him. He shook his head amusingly as he walked into the cell and opened a small brown chest inside and found a simple key of some sort. He then looked back at the locked door in the room.

"It's too small for that door," he said to himself, "But maybe it'll open the other padlock I saw." He then returned to the platform he started out on and went back into the staircase room. He then ran to the locked door and unlocked the chains using the key, which broke upon use. "Why am I not surprised?" Jonathan asked rhetorically as he went into the room he had just opened.

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Meanwhile, in a castle to the west of Death Mountain, a man clothed in black robes sat on a throne and looked at the message he had just received. It was from an ally he considered worthless; Darnuia, chieftain of the Gorons. To King Ganondorf, an "ally" who couldn't fight was really just deadweight. However, he read that Darnuia was offering the Goron's Ruby to whoever could rescue Darnuia's son or retrieve his remains from the Fire Temple. Normally, Ganondorf would not be interested in such a reward. However, he realized that King Alazon had one of the three Sacred Stones in his possession already. If he got the other two, he could get his hands on the Master Sword and could unleash the Hero of Time to fight against Ganondorf once again. And that would be a major distraction, to say the least, to his plans.

"Why did it take you so long to get this message to me?" Ganondorf asked impatiently.

"Sir, with all due respect, I didn't think you would care about a matter such as this," the courier, a young Gerudo woman who was on her right knee, replied to her leader.

"Under normal circumstances, you would be right," Ganondorf said, "However, we are not under normal circumstances anymore. King Alazon is almost certainly looking for those Sacred Stones. He needs them to unlock the Hero of Time from his slumber."

"I take full responsibility for not getting this message to you more promptly, my Lord," the Gerudo woman said. She looked down to the ground, waiting for her punishment.

"You will not be disciplined for this," Ganondorf said, "However, in the future, remember to make sure to get any message to me quickly, just in case I really need to see it."

"You are most merciful my Lord," the Gerudo woman said as she got on her feet again.

Ganondorf stood from the throne he was sitting on. "Tell my men to get my horse ready. I am going to Goron's City," Ganondorf ordered.

The Gerudo woman stood up straight. "Yes, my Lord," she responded as she hurried out of the room.

Ganondorf sat down again and smiled. "Once I have just one of those Sacred Stones in my possession, Alazon will never be able to unlock the Master Sword. And then, Zelda will be the only threat to me," he mused, "And I will eventually find her. This time, Princess, you will not survive."

----------

"You know, Ganondorf might decide to come here at any moment," Impa suddenly realized, "Perhaps I should get you to a safer place."

"Like where?" Zelda asked. She didn't want to just abandon Jonathan.

"Marlu is currently in Zora's Domain," Impa said, "And we can get you there in just a few minutes."

Zelda paused for a moment. She didn't want to leave Jonathan hanging in case he ran into a problem inside the Fire Temple. "What if Jonathan calls for help?" Zelda asked.

"I will come back here after leaving you in Marlu's care," Impa answered, "Besides; I don't think Jonathan will need our help on this one."

Zelda again thought for a few moments, then decided that Jonathan would agree with Impa that Zelda must get out of danger as quickly as possible. "Okay, let's get going," Zelda said.

"Follow me," Impa ordered as they hurried to the secret passage to the Lost Woods.

----------

Jonathan entered a new room in the Fire Temple. He immediately noticed that there was some fencing just ahead of him that he could climb up. But as he started to walk forward, he tripped over his feet. He failed to notice the steep incline that was right in front of him that led down to the next part of the room. He tumbled down the slope until he finally stopped… mere feet away from a square-shaped hole in the floor. Jonathan stood up and brushed himself off. "Damn ramps," he muttered as he looked into the hole. The square opening was carved all the way through the rock so that he could see a red substance below. "Lava," he remarked, "Good thing I wasn't running. Otherwise, I'd be frying."

Jonathan took another look around the room. He now saw that the fencing was elevated about 10 feet above him. There was no way to grab it by jumping. He then heard a sound like a jet of flame being shot out of a flamethrower from behind him. He turned around quickly and saw a huge pillar of lava shooting upwards out of the hole in the floor. The sight was so amazing that Jonathan could barely speak. "I need to go up," he said after the jet of lava went back down, "But how?" He then decided that the answer may be on the top of the fencing. He pulled out his hookshot, aimed it at the fencing, and fired.

The hooks on the end of the hookshot were folded in, so that the tip passed right through the fence. But when the hookshot ran out of chain, the hooks were released so that it could hang onto something. And as the chain retracted into the hookshot, the hooks got caught on the fence. The hookshot then reeled Jonathan up and onto the fence. Once he got his footing secure, he unhooked the hookshot from the fence and then put it back on his hip. That done, he climbed to the top of the fence and got onto a chain-link platform that was there.

The first thing Jonathan saw on the platform was two dark shapes. He realized that these shapes were resting birds, and that they would attack him. He pulled out his sword and quickly hacked the two birds to pieces. After sheathing his sword, Jonathan noticed a stone platform beneath him with a large stone block on it. The block appeared to be the same size as the hole in the floor. Jonathan jumped down to that platform and the first thing he realized about this particular stone block was that it was made of a material which could withstand the heat of molten rock. Suddenly, an idea popped into Jonathan's head. _What if I plugged that hole in the floor with this block? _he asked himself. As he asked, the jet of lava came again. Jonathan watched as the jet went up and up and through a hole in the ceiling that was the same size as the block which Jonathan was standing next to. _I could be shot up into that room up there!_ Jonathan realized as he grabbed the block and began pushing it toward the edge of the platform. Jonathan then checked to make sure the block would fall into the hole. After making sure, he pushed the block over the edge. It fell right into the hole just as another lava jet came up, pushing the block back up to Jonathan. "Yes!" he exclaimed as he jumped onto the rising block and was raised into the next room.

----------

"Is my horse ready?" Ganondorf asked as he arrived in the Hyrule Castle stables.

"Almost, my Lord," a servant said.

Ganondorf turned around and faced the messenger from earlier. "Get your horse ready as well," Ganondorf ordered, "For you are coming with me."

"Yes, my Lord," the Gerudo woman said as she readied her horse in another stall.

"Time is of the essence now," Ganondorf proclaimed loudly, "If we can get this Spiritual Stone, our enemies will not be able to hold out against us forever!"

----------

"What are you two doing here?" Marlu asked Zelda and Impa upon their arrival at the water-filled cavern known as Zora's Domain.

"Ganondorf may come to Goron's City at any moment, so I decided to get Princess Zelda out of danger," Impa explained.

"I see," Marlu said as a smile began to cross his old face, "Well, I haven't been a babysitter in a long time, but I'll take care of the Princess for now."

"Good," Impa responded with a straight face as Zelda walked to Marlu's side.

"By the way," Marlu remembered, "When Jonathan finishes his work in the Fire Temple, bring him here. There is a bit of a situation that he must help with."

"Okay, I'll bring him here," Impa responded as she left Zora's Domain.

"What kind of situation, Marlu?" Zelda asked after Impa was gone.

"You can hear it from King Zora XVI himself," Marlu responded, "But I can tell you that it involves another princess."

"Ruto?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, it involves Princess Ruto," Marlu replied.

Zelda sighed. "She's probably just gone out for an extended swim in Lake Hylia again," she stated.

----------

Jonathan used another of his small keys to enter yet another room filled with lava. In this large room, there was a chain-link fence above the river of lava below. Jonathan jumped down onto the fence. As he began to walk forward, however, he heard a strange noise from behind him. He turned around. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed.

A wall of fire had popped up behind him and was now approaching him, going around the room. Jonathan quickly turned away from the fire and began to run as quickly as he could from the wall. He was just able to reach the other side of the room and turned around to find that the wall of flames was just reaching the point halfway between the entrance of the room and where Jonathan stood now.

"That… is… just about…" Jonathan panted, "The worst… trap… ever. Who came up with these pathetic things?" He then climbed up a few platforms on that side of the room and found another locked door. He pulled out another small key and used it on the padlock to open the door. Just as he closed the door behind him, the wall of fire reached the other side the room and dissipated.

Jonathan now found himself above the maze room that he had to work his way through earlier. "A maze is always much easier to get through when you look at it from above," Jonathan said as he examined the platform in front of him. He saw another one of those gray creatures moving around on the floor. They also happened to be on fire. Jonathan dubbed them "fire slugs" and they were more of an annoyance than anything else. Jonathan also saw that the platform ahead of him seemed to have cracks on it. This gave Jonathan an idea. He pulled out a bomb from his bag and lit its fuse. He then tossed it onto the platform with the fire slug. "Bull's-eye!" Jonathan exclaimed quietly.

BOOM! The bomb exploded, completely destroying the fire slug instantly. The explosion also caused the middle of the platform to collapse, revealing a way down into a cell that Jonathan saw earlier. He jumped over to the platform and dropped down into the opening. When he landed on the floor 40 feet below, he cringed at the pain in his legs, but he was still able to walk. Jonathan walked over to the chest in the cell and opened it to find yet another small key.

Jonathan then sat down, resting his legs for a minute, before using the chain-link fencing around him to climb back out of the cell and back into the maze room.

----------

Ganondorf mounted his black stallion. "I shall be back before nightfall," he told his servants as he left the stables with the Gerudo woman who had brought him the message from Darnuia. She would be riding a white horse which was a bit smaller than Ganondorf's stallion. "Are you ready to go?" he asked the messenger.

"I am, my Lord," she answered as she too left the stables.

"Then let us be off!" Ganondorf exclaimed as he led the way away from Hyrule Castle, through Hyrule Castle Town, and out onto Hyrule Field. From there, the two proceeded to the southeast, heading toward Kakariko Village.

Jonathan was running out of time.

----------

Impa returned to Darnuia's chamber in Goron's City. "Has Jonathan returned yet?" she asked Darnuia.

"No, not yet," Darnuia answered, "Should it be taking him this long?"

"Probably," Impa replied, "So don't get worried just yet."

----------

Jonathan now found himself in a gigantic room at the top of the Fire Temple. The room was absolutely huge. In front of Jonathan was a floor switch, along with an ever-narrowing spiral that ascended around to a platform in the middle of the room. At the top of the platform was a large chest, but it was surrounded by flames. _How do I get what's in that chest?_ Jonathan wondered as he stepped on the floor switch. That caused the wall of flames around the chest to disappear.

"That's probably only temporary," Jonathan mused as he quickly made his way up to the platform via the spiral path. He had to be a bit more careful near the end of the path, with the path now being so narrow. However, Jonathan made it to the chest in time and opened it. Inside, he found a large, heavy hammer that was about four feet long and weighed about 25 pounds. It took the strength of both of Jonathan's arms to swing it around fast enough to do damage. Jonathan noticed that when he slammed the hammer into the ground, it made something like a shock wave go through the ground near him.

"This may come in handy," Jonathan said as he made his way back down to the door. Near the floor switch he saw a block with a face on the floor. "That block has got to be some sort of clue," Jonathan said as he stood on top of the block. Nothing happened. Then Jonathan tried hitting the block with the hammer he now had.

The floor around Jonathan collapsed, sending Jonathan falling…

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"Take good care of these steeds," Ganondorf told the villager who ran the stables in Kakariko Village.

"I will, sir," the man responded.

Ganondorf then gave the man a handful of small gems. "Fifty rupees, correct?" Ganondorf asked.

"That is correct, sir," the man answered as he closed his hand around the gems.

Ganondorf then left the stables and led the Gerudo woman up to the path ascending Death Mountain. "Remember to let me do the talking to the Gorons," Ganondorf reminded.

"Yes, my Lord," the woman answered as she followed her king.

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"He should have been back by now," Darnuia said as he paced in his chamber, "He must be dead."

"If he doesn't come back in another few minutes, I'll try to contact him through my Stone of Voices," Impa stated.

"Fine, I'll wait a little longer," Darnuia said.

----------

"YEARGH!" Jonathan screamed as he slammed his hammer onto the small, annoying creature that had managed to escape from him earlier in the Fire Temple. Jonathan heard a satisfying crunching sound come from the hammer. As he looked where the creature once was, he saw nothing but a puddle of fluids and small, crushed bones.

"Serves you right, maggot," Jonathan growled as he left the room through the now open door. This door led to a hallway with a cell and a switch in front of the cell. Inside this cell, Jonathan could see a very large chest, encrusted with rubies, gold, diamonds, and other precious gems. He also saw a small, tan-colored rock inside as well. Jonathan stepped on the switch, causing the cell to open up.

Suddenly, the "rock" began to move and Jonathan realized it was actually a small Goron. "Who are you?" Jonathan asked.

"Please don't hurt me!" the five-feet-tall Goron cried as he shuddered in fear.

"I'm a friend. I was sent here by Darnuia," Jonathan assured.

"Dad?" the Goron asked.

"Are you Link?" Jonathan inquired.

"Yes, that's my name," the young Goron responded, "I am the son of Darnuia."

"Your father sent me to look for you," Jonathan explained, "He thought you were in a bit of trouble."

"I was," Link said, "I was captured by Volvagia."

"Volvagia?" Jonathan asked, "Who's that?"

"He's a lava dragon who loves to eat us Gorons. He'll eat us all!" Link cried.

"Hey, you're going to be all right now," Jonathan tried to assure Link.

Link then looked at what Jonathan was carrying and gasped. "That's the Megaton Hammer!" he exclaimed.

"Huh? Oh, this?" Jonathan asked, referring to the hammer, "I just found this at the top of the temple."

"You can use that weapon to kill Volvagia!" Link explained.

"Where is this Volvagia?" Jonathan asked.

"You know the door with the huge lock on it?" Link asked, "Well he's behind that door. Use the key in this chest here to open that door." He gestured to the ornate chest next to him.

"Okay, I will," Jonathan replied, "Now, get out of here."

"Thanks a lot," Link said as he left the cell as Jonathan opened the chest and took out a very large, ornate key.

"This has got to be what he was talking about," Jonathan said as he left the cell as well and entered the first room in the Fire Temple. He then ran up the stairs and into the room with the ornate lock on it. He jumped over to the platform with the door and was about to open the door when he got a call on his Stone of Voices.

"Jonathan, what are you doing in there?" he heard Impa ask.

"Link should be coming to you shortly. I need to kill something he calls Volvagia in this temple," Jonathan explained, "Where's Princess Zelda?"

"She's in a place of safety," Impa replied, "Get back here as soon as you finish off Volvagia."

"I will," Jonathan answered as he put his stone back and opened the ornate door.

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"Son!" Darnuia shouted as he embraced Link.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Impa said after a few moments, "But I believe you owe us something, Darnuia."

"Why, yes, I do," Darnuia said as he retrieved the Goron's Ruby and gave it to Impa. "There you go."

"Thank you," Impa said, "But now I ought to get out of here."

"Your instincts are good, though they appear to have grown dull with time," a deep, familiar voice said from behind Impa.

Impa's eyes went wide as she slowly began to turn around to face the source of the voice that sent a chill up her spine. "You," she stated with a snarl.

----------

Jonathan walked into the center of the room, where there were nine large holes in the floor that showed the lava beneath the floor. As he reached the center of the room, he felt the cavern shake. "Oh God! The volcano's going to blow!" he exclaimed as he looked around and saw a large lava dragon above him, flying around the cavern. "That must be Volvagia!"

Almost as if on a cue, the dragon dove down at Jonathan and spewed fire from its mouth at him. Jonathan was barely able to get out of its way. The dragon then rose back into the air and then dived into one of the holes in the middle of the room.

Jonathan turned to see the door that led into the room, but the shaking of the cavern caused part of the floor to collapse into the lava, including the part which led from where Jonathan was back to the door out of the room. "Not that I was going to run away," Jonathan said, "Not yet, anyway." He pulled out the Megaton Hammer and moved near the nine holes in the floor. "Come on out! Face me!" he yelled.

From behind him, Volvagia quietly rose out of a hole in the floor and prepared to burn Jonathan to a crisp. However, Jonathan was able to feel the intense heat of the fire inside Volvagia's mouth on his back and rolled to the side, avoiding a fiery death. He then rushed at Volvagia and swung down on his head with the Megaton Hammer.

Volvagia screamed in pain, while Jonathan kept swinging the hammer at him again and again. "DIE! DAMN YOU! DIE!" Jonathan shouted like a man possessed. His eyes burned with a passion to kill that would have made Ganondorf himself proud.

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"Last time I checked, you were supposed to be guarding Princess Zelda," Ganondorf said to Impa, "Where is she?"

"And what makes you think I'll actually tell you that information?" Impa inquired as she kept her eyes focused on her enemy, "And even if I did tell you, I seriously doubt you'd let me live."

"I am not here to fight you necessarily," Ganondorf told Impa, "I'm just here for the Spiritual Stone. Give it to me, and I will let you out of here with your life, along with Princess Zelda's."

"What do you need it for?" Impa asked.

"Why, to keep it away from you, of course," Ganondorf explained simply, "Now, give it to me. Or, I can just pry it out of your cold, dead fingers. It really doesn't matter to me." He then pulled out a long, black sword. The blade was straight and was about four-and-a-half feet long.

"I'm not going to die here," Impa stated as she activated a device in her wristbands. Suddenly, two claws with three sharp, foot-long claws shot out from wide wrist bands. She raised them in front of her face in a defensive posture.

"Prepare to die!" Ganondorf exclaimed as he swung his sword sideways at Impa. Impa stopped the sword with her claws and pushed the sword back at Ganondorf. She then quickly attempted to impale Ganondorf on the claws of her right arm. However, Ganondorf was able to get out of range in time.

"Like I said, I'm not going to die here," Impa said as she raised her claws again.

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Volvagia dived back into the floor after having flown through the air trying to hit Jonathan with its fire breath. Jonathan had clearly done a number on Volvagia, but the dragon was not ready to die just yet.

Jonathan kept looking around, waiting for his enemy to rise out of the ground again. This time, Volvagia rose out of the hole in the center of the holes (the nine holes were arranged in a 3x3 square) and prepared to burn Jonathan. However, Jonathan slammed the Megaton Hammer onto the dragon's head, mortally wounding it. Volvagia flew out of the hole. He was screaming, trying to find some last reserve of life energy within his body, but not finding any. Then, in midair, Volvagia exploded and was destroyed. Jonathan had ended the threat to the existence of the Gorons.

Then, Jonathan saw a blue circle appear on the ground nearby. He stepped into it and the next thing he knew, he was standing on the Triforce platform just outside of the Fire Temple.

"Time to collect what's ours," he said as he made his way back to Darnuia's chamber, unaware of who was now there.

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Author's Notes: Don't worry, the writing in this story will get better as it goes along (I hope). And yes, the title is a bit of a reference to DragonForce (awesome music).

New chapter next Friday (hopefully, college won't occupy too much of my time by then). Until then, read and review everyone.


	11. Chapter 10: From the Frying Pan to the S

Author's Notes: Thanks to those who reviewed my story in the past week.

Infernal Flame Zero: I'm sorry to tell you this, but I don't think I'm very good with battle scenes. I'm glad you liked that one. The next boss battle is in the chapter after this one, and it is a rather anti-climactic affair, in my opinion. It's there basically to point out one of the flaws of the newer Zelda games. As for Ganondorf being too merciful, he just wants to make sure that Link doesn't come into the picture, as Link is the only one who can defeat him. He knows those Spiritual Stones are somehow related to the quest to find Link, so as long as he has just one of the stones, he doesn't have to worry about Link anymore. Plus, he doesn't have the Triforce now, so he has to be careful about his actions. In my Zelda universe, there is also some natural tension between the Gerudo and the Sheikah, which will be explained in a future chapter.

And now, on to the next chapter.

**Chapter 10: From the Frying Pan to the Salty Sea**

Jonathan quickly ran into Darnuia's chamber and yelled out, "Impa! I killed Volvagia!" He then saw Impa fighting with a strong, dark-skinned man with red hair and gold eyes. And these gold eyes were as cold as ice. The moment he saw that man, Jonathan felt chills going down the back of his spine.

Impa immediately saw Jonathan by that doorway. _Time to get out of here,_ she thought as she hurried over to Jonathan.

"Now you die, Sheikah!" the man with the sword yelled as he prepared to swing at them.

However, he had another thing coming, as Impa threw something to the ground that blinded everyone nearby except for Impa momentarily. While Ganondorf was cursing Impa and her witchcraft, she picked up Jonathan and ran out of Darnuia's chamber and back to the secret passageway to the Lost Woods.

By the time Ganondorf's sight was clear, Impa was already long gone. "Where'd she go?" he bellowed angrily, looking around for her. But he knew that there was no hope of catching her at this point. When a Sheikah wanted to hide, there was no way you could find them.

_I think I'm in trouble,_ Darnuia thought to himself as he sat down on the stone chair in his room, waiting to face whatever punishment Ganondorf had in store for him.

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"What the hell was that!?" Jonathan asked Impa once they were in the Lost Woods.

"That was an old Sheikah trick," Impa replied, "It's very useful when you need to get yourself out of dangerous situations." She then began to lead Jonathan through the woods.

"And who was that man you were fighting against?" Jonathan asked as he followed Impa.

"That was Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo," Impa replied.

_So that was Ganondorf, huh?_ Jonathan thought to himself. "Where are we going?" he inquired.

"Zora's Domain," Impa answered.

"Is that where Princess Zelda is?" Jonathan asked

"Yes," she answered, "Now stop annoying me."

The tone of Impa's voice was extremely clear, so Jonathan kept his mouth shut as they came to a place in the Lost Woods that appeared to contain a small spring of some sort. As Jonathan looked into the spring, he noticed that there was a passageway at the bottom of the pool of water, carved out of stone.

"That is the way to Zora's Domain," Impa said as she pointed to the passageway at the bottom of the pool.

"Okay, let's go," Jonathan said as he jumped into the water. He took a deep breath, and then swam down to the passageway. Magically, he was transported to a similar spring in a different part of Hyrule. Jonathan quickly swam to the top of the water's surface and took a huge breath of air as he surfaced. Gasping, he climbed out of the pool as Impa surface, hardly seeming to breathe at all while he was still down on his hands and knees recovering.

"With training comes the end of physical hardship," she stated as she led Jonathan to a waterfall in front of a cliff.

"Let me guess, Zora's Domain is behind that waterfall," Jonathan said.

Impa took a long glance at Jonathan. "You catch on quick," Impa replied, "Here, take the stone. I need to stop the falls." She gave the Goron's Ruby to Jonathan as she put the fingers of her right hand to her mouth and began to whistle a tune. It was a short and very soothing melody. Whatever the song was, it greatly reduced the amount of water coming down the falls for a short period of time.

"How do you do that?" Jonathan asked Impa incredulously.

"It's magic," Impa answered simply and jumped across to the cavern opening in the wall behind the falls, "Well, come on."

Jonathan shook off the disbelief and jumped into the cavern entrance as well. He then followed Impa into Zora's Domain, where he was stunned by the watery world that surrounded him.

Zora's Domain was made up of two things, water and rock, mostly water. Jonathan saw rivers and waterfalls upon entering the area. And he also saw strange white beings in the waters. _Those must be the Zora,_ Jonathan thought about the tall, white beings with large black eyes and streamlined bodies obviously designed with fast swimming in mind. Their "arms" and "legs" were really just specialized flippers, but they could walk on land fairly easily.

Suddenly, as Impa and Jonathan were proceeding across a rock formation which the water was lapping up against, a Zora appeared almost from out of nowhere. "Who are you and where are you going?" he asked in a deep, sonorous voice.

"I am Impa, attendant to Zelda, Princess of Red Lions," Impa said referring to herself. Then she pointed to Jonathan and said, "This is Jonathan, a warrior. We are both in the service of the King of Red Lions, His Majesty Alazon. We seek an audience with King Zora XVI of Zora's Domain."

The Zora got out of the water and said, "Follow me," as he led the two visitors up a spiral rock ramp toward King Zora.

Zora's Domain was officially aligned with King Alazon. However, since the Zora weren't warlike, their alliance didn't mean much for either side. The greatest importance that the Zora had was that in Zora's Domain was a secret passageway that got one to the shores of Lake Hylia, on the western side of the land of Hyrule, while Zora's Domain was in the east. However, seeing that it would be extremely impractical to transport a whole army like that, it wasn't used by outsiders very much and usually used by the Zora for recreation. However, as Jonathan now realized, it made a great escape route for small groups who could avoid getting lost in the Lost Woods.

As Jonathan and Impa approached the top of the ramp and King Zora's chambers, Jonathan caught sight of Zelda up ahead. "Hey!" Jonathan yelled.

Zelda looked in the direction of the noise. "Jonathan!" she exclaimed as she ran over and embraced Jonathan, "Thank the goddesses you're all right!"

Jonathan smiled. "What, you think some volcano is going to be the end of me?" he asked rhetorically, "Look what we got." He broke the embrace and showed her the Goron's Ruby that Impa had given him to carry.

Zelda's smile immediately grew wider. "Oh, you're so wonderful, Jonathan!" Zelda exclaimed as she took the stone out of Jonathan's hands.

"I suppose the stone is safer in your hands for some reason," Jonathan remarked.

"You'd be absolutely correct about that," Jonathan heard Marlu's voice say.

"Marlu? Is that you?" Jonathan said looking around, "Where are you?"

"Right behind Princess Zelda," Marlu said as he slowly walked over to the group, "You are needed for a mission."

"Another one?" Jonathan asked, "My body is still trying to recover from that journey through the Fire Temple."

"Well, this mission is sure to soothe the wounds of that one," Marlu said, "Follow me."

----------

When Jonathan saw King Zora XVI for the first time, the only thing that Jonathan could think was that he looked like a big, light-blue fish with a small, red crown on his head. His legs were very small in comparison to the rest of his body and Jonathan seriously doubted that he could walk at all with them. He was sitting on a stone block with metal bars behind him. Water was gently flowing over the edge of the block and into a pool of water which led to a waterfall.

"So Marlu, who is this strange young man you bring before me?" King Zora asked in a rather deep voice. His fish-like eyes were looking right at Jonathan.

"King Zora, this young man is Jonathan," Marlu responded from the stone platform across the pool of water from the king, "And he is here to help you with your problem."

"Let me speak to him," King Zora demanded.

Marlu looked at Jonathan. "Jonathan," he said, "Come stand where I am now."

Jonathan stood up and walked onto the platform as Marlu walked off. He gave the king a bow.

"Jonathan, I am in dire need of help," King Zora said, "Could you assist me?"

"That depends on two things. First, what is your problem?" Jonathan inquired.

"It is my daughter, Princess Ruto. She went into the Water Temple in Lake Hylia four days ago and I haven't heard anything of her since. The scouts I have sent into the Water Temple have told me that there are evil creatures in the temple that prevents them from searching for Ruto."

"Ganondorf's forces, without a doubt," Jonathan commented, "What does Princess Ruto look like?"

"She'll tell you who she is, if you find her," King Zora answered, "I'm certain of that."

Jonathan nodded. "And the second thing is what sort of reward is in it for me?" Jonathan asked, although Zelda gave him a bit of a dirty look for asking it.

King Zora laughed a little and replied, "My daughter will probably flirt with you about becoming her husband."

Jonathan was taken aback by this. "I-I don't know if I could accept that sort of reward," he managed to say. Zelda giggled, seeing that King Zora had turned the tides completely back on Jonathan.

"But I have something that may interest you more than that," the king said, "My daughter is in possession of the Zora's Sapphire, one of the Sacred Stones I hear that you have been searching for."

This got Jonathan's undivided attention. "Will she give it to us?" he asked.

"If you can prove yourself trustworthy to her, she will," Zora said, "Now, will you accept the task I have put before you?"

"Yes, I will," Jonathan said as he stood up straight, "Although I suppose I really don't have a choice."

Zelda then stood up and declared, "I will go with him," as she began to walk up to the platform with Jonathan.

"Princess Zelda, I must protest," Impa said as she stood up, "It is too dangerous for you."

"Jonathan will need my help to get through the Water Temple successfully, it's enormous," Zelda retorted, "And besides, he may require assistance to gain Princess Ruto's trust."

"Princess Zelda is right, she must go with Jonathan," Marlu said as he stood from his seat, "Jonathan will keep her safe, I'm sure of that."

"If you are ready to go, I have an item I must give to you, Jonathan," King Zora stated, "In order to make your way through the Water Temple, you must be able to be underwater for extended periods of time. Since I don't see gills on you, I will give you this Zora's Tunic." He then clapped his fins on his stomach, which brought around a Zora from the path behind Jonathan holding a tunic exactly like the one he was wearing now, except it was blue. He was also carrying what appeared to be a belt of some sort on his other flipper.

"And for you, Princess Zelda, is this Zora's Belt for you to use," King Zora said as the Zora handed the belt over to Zelda, "It will do the same thing as the Tunic."

"Thank you," Jonathan said as he and Zelda both took the items given to them.

"Now, the fastest way to Lake Hylia is through the underwater passage here in Zora's Domain. Just walk down the way the water here is flowing and jump off the end and into the pool beneath you," King Zora instructed.

"You have been most helpful, King Zora," Zelda said as she and Jonathan walked down the path King Zora pointed out and out of view.

----------

Impa and Marlu were walking down the narrow corridor away from King Zora's chamber. "Impa, you are hanging onto her too tightly," Marlu told Impa.

"Yes, I know," Impa replied, "But ever since Eleza died…"

"Don't hold yourself responsible for Zelda's safety," Marlu said, "She is no longer a little girl. She can make her own choices now. She is 21 years of age, for goodness sake. She should be looking for a husband now, if you would let any suitors near her."

Impa was silent for a moment, then replied, "I guess you're right, Marlu."

"Of course I'm right," Marlu joked, "The Goddesses tell me I'm right." They shared a laugh from that comment.

----------

Jonathan followed Zelda's lead and swan-dived into the pool. It was a long fall, but Jonathan found the exhilarating feeling after it all ended worth it. He and Zelda shared a bit of a laugh as Jonathan saw the secret passageway beneath him and lead Zelda to Lake Hylia.

----------

Meanwhile, at Lake Hylia, Orizon had now hidden himself in a tree and was waiting for the arrival of Zelda and Jonathan. Ganondorf had informed him of the situation and Orizon immediately knew that the two of them would be coming to the Water Temple. This time, Orizon had a new trick up his sleeve for Jonathan when they met again.

Sure enough, Jonathan and Zelda broke the surface of Lake Hylia, gasping for air as they swam over to the shoreline.

----------

"So, I guess I have to change my clothes again, huh?" Jonathan asked rhetorically.

Zelda smiled as she nodded. "That's right," she said. Jonathan just loved that smile.

"All right, here we go again," Jonathan said as he began to unbuckle his belt for the second time on this day.

----------

As Orizon watched Jonathan and Zelda, he began to rethink his plans for Jonathan. Originally, he found Jonathan to be a useful tool that would outlive its usefulness once his mission was successful. However, as Orizon noticed Zelda's actions toward him, he realized it may not be in his best interest to eliminate him. _Perhaps there is more to his destiny than to just be a savior,_ he thought. However, he understood that he couldn't look too far ahead at this point in time.

----------

Jonathan finished putting on his new Zora's Tunic. Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling from the sides of his waist, as if the skin there was splitting open, except that it didn't hurt. He looked down at himself and gasped. "I've got gills!" he shouted.

"Those will help you breathe underwater," Zelda explained.

"Well, I knew that," Jonathan responded, now touching his skin to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Zelda laughed. "They're real, don't worry," she said as she strapped the belt around her waist and waited for her gills to appear, "And there won't be any lasting damage or anything like that." Within a few moments, her skin began to split as well.

"Okay, I think we're ready to go," Jonathan said as he turned around and looked at Lake Hylia, "Now, where is this Water Temple?"

Zelda pointed toward the island in the middle of the lake with a dead tree sticking out of the top. "The entrance is below the water level on that island," she said, "Look through the water."

Jonathan squinted and saw something that looked like a metal gate under the water. "I think I see it," Jonathan said.

"Then lets go," Zelda insisted, "You first."

"Alright," Jonathan said as he jumped back into the water and began to swim underwater toward the gate. The gills worked perfectly. He looked back and saw Zelda swimming behind him.

Then he came to a metal gate blocking the way into the Water Temple and found no way through. He looked toward the surface and saw a blue crystal mounted above the gate. He then saw Zelda swim up next to him.

"I think if…" Jonathan began to say, "Hey! I can talk underwater!"

"I think if… what?" Zelda asked.

"Well, I think if I could use my hookshot, I could hit that crystal up there. That has to open the gate, since I don't see any other mechanism to do it," he answered, "But I can't use my hookshot right unless I'm standing on something hard."

"Hang on," Zelda said as she put her hands on Jonathan's boots and said some sort of incantation. Suddenly, Jonathan found himself sinking in the water. He looked down and saw that his boots were now metal. After about 10 seconds, he landed on the lake bottom.

"Hey, thanks!" Jonathan called as he pulled out his hookshot and aimed it at the crystal. He pushed the button on the hookshot and the point shot out and hit the crystal. The gate rose into the island.

Then Jonathan felt himself floating in the water again. The metal on his boots had disappeared. He pushed his feet off the lake floor back up to Zelda. "What sort of magic was that?" he asked Zelda.

"Magic that comes whenever you need it," Zelda explained, "Now, lets get going."

Jonathan nodded as he led the way into the Water Temple.

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Author's Notes: I changed the way the boots work because I didn't want to bother with writing about Jonathan changing his shoes every other sentence. My apologies to the purists about that.

New chapter next Friday, hopefully. Until then, read and review please.


	12. Chapter 11: A Watery Grave?

Author's Notes: Thanks to all of you who reviewed my story last week.

Air Bender Yutakia: I am disappointed at the lack of reviews as well, though plenty of people have been reading this story (now well over 900 hits). I would like to be getting some more feedback from the readers as well. But if you think this story is "wow" at chapter 3, wait until you hit the parts of the story that were written much more recently. As for the 1992, if you check my profile on this site, you'll notice that I have planned a trilogy of which this story is the first part. The third part takes place nine years after this story, in which Jonathan will return to Earth on September 9, 2001. I still haven't worked out how that story is going to work out yet, but you see where I'm going with the timeline. It's also my attempt to rant and rave a little bit about the world we live in nowadays. Thanks for your support and questions.

By the way, I've noticed that once this story as a whole hit 30,000 words, the number of hits for it exploded. Any reason for that? And now, for the next dungeon.

**Chapter 11: A Watery Grave?**

Jonathan swam to the surface of the water and climbed onto the white-colored stone platform in front of him and looked around the Water Temple. He saw that his level was the highest level he could see, with two additional levels below his. The temple was flooded up to the third floor with water. He also saw a large columnlike structure in the middle of the room.

Zelda came out of the water and stood next to Jonathan. She suddenly looked down at her feet and put her right hand to her forehead.

"Zelda, is something wrong?" Jonathan asked.

"No, but Princess Ruto is nearby," Zelda answered.

Jonathan looked into the water in front of him. "It looks like there are some spiked creatures down there, but I think we can avoid them if we need to," Jonathan stated.

"She's down on the first level," Zelda said as she looked back up again, "But I'm not quite sure where."

"Let's go right first," Jonathan said as he jumped into the water and swam over and down to the right. Zelda followed him as they reached the first floor of the temple. They avoided the spiked metal creatures that rolled toward them slowly as they made their way into the corridor. They followed the stone hallway as it turned to the left.

"What the…" Jonathan said as he saw a blue creature standing ahead of him in a submerged room. The creature was about the same height as Jonathan. She (at least, it appeared to be a she to Jonathan) looked like a human except that there was something fish-like about her eyes and that she had a webbing of some sort stretching between her torso and her arms.

"Why, hello there," the creature said in a very feminine voice with a hint of flirting, "And who might you be?"

Before Jonathan had a chance to answer, Zelda walked around Jonathan. The creature caught sight of Zelda. "Ah, Princess Zelda," the creature said in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"Jonathan," Zelda began, "This is Princess Ruto of the Zora. Ruto, this is Jonathan, a faithful warrior of my father's."

"He seems rather strange. I was hoping Link would come," Ruto said wishfully.

"Speaking of Link, that's why we're here," Jonathan said, "In a manner of speaking."

"Yes?" Ruto asked as she looked at Jonathan.

"Ruto, we need your Spiritual Stone," Zelda explained.

"Oh, I have it with me, but it belongs to Link, you know," Ruto stated.

"Unless you let us have it, we will all be killed by Ganondorf's forces," Zelda persuaded.

Ruto sighed and said, "Alright, I guess you can have it. But you must help me first."

"What do you need?" Jonathan asked.

"A creature has taken over this temple. I want you to defeat him so that Ganondorf does not take control of Hyrule's water supply," Ruto explained, "If he gains control of Lake Hylia, he can poison the waters and bring the whole of Hyrule to its knees."

"And if we do this, will you give us your Spiritual Stone?" Jonathan asked.

Ruto nodded in response.

"Lead the way to this creature," Jonathan ordered.

"It's not that simple, Jonathan," Zelda said.

Jonathan sighed as he looked down to the floor. "I knew you were going to say that, Zelda," he replied.

"The door to this evil creature's lair is locked and I can't find the key to open the door," Ruto explained.

"Then we must find that key," Zelda said, "Ruto, you get out of the Water Temple and get back to your father. We'll destroy this monster."

"See you later, you two!" Ruto called as she swam through the corridor Zelda and Jonathan had just walked through.

"Jonathan, follow me," Zelda said as she swam into the center of the small room and began to rise up through a hole in the top of the room. Jonathan followed her up.

----------

Ruto swam out of the Water Temple and back into the waters of Lake Hylia. She was about to swim toward the passage to Zora's Domain when she heard a deep voice from behind her say, "Why hello there, Princess Ruto."

She turned around as quickly as the water would allow her. "You!" she exclaimed with a gasp as a sphere of purple light imprisoned her.

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Jonathan and Zelda entered the central column from the door on the first floor of the Water Temple, which had now been drained. It was completely hollow on the inside, with some platforms sticking out of the walls. There were also spikes all around Jonathan and Zelda except for a path right ahead of them. Once on the other side of the column, Jonathan looked up and saw a target on the platform above him that he could use with his hookshot. He pulled out his tool and said, "Hang on tight, Zelda."

Zelda grabbed Jonathan by the shoulders as he aimed the hookshot at the target. He launched the point toward the target, which lodged itself into the soft material of the target. Jonathan tested how well the point had lodged itself. Satisfied, he twisted the handle, causing him and Zelda to be pulled up to the platform rapidly. Jonathan grabbed the ledge and struggled to pull himself and Zelda onto the platform.

"It's a good thing Impa's training strengthened me so much," Jonathan said as Zelda got off his back.

Zelda looked up. "It looks like you're going to have to do that whole thing all over again," she said as she pointed to another hookshot target on a platform above theirs.

"Oh boy," Jonathan groaned, "Okay, get on again."

Zelda grabbed his shoulders again as Jonathan successfully repeated the process… barely.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that again," Jonathan said as he laid face-down on the platform.

"You may not have to," Zelda said as she looked at a small Triforce symbol on the wall near her.

Jonathan looked and saw it as well. "Go ahead and do your thing," he said as he began to stand up again, rubbing his shoulders as he did so.

Zelda took out her ocarina and pressed it to her lips as she looked at the symbol and began to play the song that Impa had played to stop the waterfall outside Zora's Domain. Suddenly, the water level, which had been at the first floor, began to rise up and stopped at the second floor, leaving the first completely submerged again. Jonathan and Zelda then swam to the nearby door and went back outside the column and saw that the water around them had risen to the second floor throughout the temple.

"Lets go this way," Jonathan said as he and Zelda swam to the western corridor on the second floor. Inside, they found a room with a hole in the floor where a small geyser would be. Jonathan also saw on the other side of the room from the geyser a clear crystal switch.

"Stay there," Jonathan told Zelda as he walked over to the geyser and listened very hard, "Something doesn't feel right to me." Then he heard it. The sound of something jumping, approaching him. He backed away from the geyser just as something very colorful came down through the opening in the roof.

"Another tektile!" Zelda cried, referring to the small creature on four legs with many different colors which had dropped into the room.

"I'll take care of it!" Jonathan said as he unsheathed his sword and ran at the tektile and swung at it. The creature never stood a chance as the blade cut it into two pieces, spreading its insides all over the nearby wall.

"Zelda, come over here," Jonathan said as he sheathed the sword and pulled out his hookshot. Zelda stood next to him on top of the geyser and Jonathan launched the hook at the switch. It glowed yellow as the geyser suddenly lifted them up to the third floor.

"Look! Another Triforce symbol!" Jonathan said as he pointed to the wall with the Triforce on the wall.

"I see it," Zelda said as she walked over to the wall and pulled out her ocarina once again. She played her soothing melody once again and the water level rose to the third floor once again.

Jonathan then looked to his left and saw the central room. The water now filled it to the third floor again. Jonathan and Zelda jumped into the water and went into the western corridor on the third floor. Once they made it through the corridor, they found a huge room with a waterfall falling down the opposite end of the room from Zelda and Jonathan. He looked over the edge of the room and saw a platform moving up and down the wall slowly, while there was a constant stream of platforms falling slowly down the side of the room with the waterfall, resembling an escalator.

"I think you ought to stay behind for this one, Zelda," Jonathan said as he pulled out his hookshot again.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Zelda replied.

"I'll meet you back in the central room," Jonathan said as he jumped down onto the platform.

"Right," Zelda replied as she hurried back the way she came.

Jonathan then aimed for the highest platform on the other side of the room that he could reach using the hookshot. He fired at the target on the platform and then almost flew over to the platform. He quickly climbed onto the platform, and then aimed his hookshot at the highest platform on this side of the room. He flew up to that platform, climbed on top of it, and quickly hurried toward a door in front of him in a corridor.

"What a rush!" Jonathan said as he went through the door.

----------

"Now, how about you give me that Spiritual Stone you have?" Orizon asked Ruto, who was now stuck inside a purple field of energy on the island in the middle of Lake Hylia.

"Absolutely not," Ruto said stubbornly as she pounded her fists against the inside of the field, "Let me out of this… thing!"

Orizon shook his head. "Not until you give me your Spiritual Stone," he said.

"I have already promised it to someone else!" Ruto cried.

"Who?" Orizon asked.

"I'm not telling you," Ruto replied as she crossed her arms and looked away from Orizon.

"Oh, I'm sure you will," Orizon said as he walked back to the dead tree on the central island, "Anyone who served in the War of Chaos with me knows that I have many ways of making all types of beings give me information. You will be no different."

----------

Jonathan was stunned by what he saw upon entering a huge room in the western corridor of the third floor of the Water Temple. The floor, the ceiling and the walls of this room appeared to be made of liquid water, but Jonathan did not sink into the floor. The room also seemed to stretch on for forever. Jonathan was simply overwhelmed with awe as he slowly walked toward the other end of the strange room.

"I wish Zelda were here to see this," Jonathan whispered as he walked over what appeared to be a small island of sorts in the very middle of the room, barely noticing it as he continued to look around. He continued walking toward the other end of the room and found a door there, but it was barred shut.

"Damn it!" Jonathan exclaimed as he looked around the room again. Then he looked down at his feet. "What the hell?" Jonathan asked as he did a double-take, "Where did my shadow go?" He looked toward the central island in the room and saw… something. It appeared to be gray in color.

"Strange," Jonathan said as he began walking toward the island again, "I don't remember seeing that before." As he grew closer, Jonathan saw that the thing he had seen was shaped like a human, except where a face should have been, there was no face.

"Is that… my shadow?" Jonathan asked as he came within 15 feet of the island and saw that the gray figure had a shield on its left arm and a sheathed sword attached to its left side. Suddenly, the figure began moving quickly toward Jonathan, drawing its sword as it did so.

"Uh oh!" Jonathan said as he pulled out his sword and raised his shield in time to block a strike from his shadow. _This thing can actually kill me!_ Jonathan realized as he swung his sword at his other self.

The shadow did not raise his shield, but did exactly the same motion that Jonathan made as he made it, parrying Jonathan's strike. Jonathan tried to deliver another five strikes with the same thing happening every time. Then, Jonathan went for the kill.

"Yah!" Jonathan grunted as he quickly stabbed at his shadow, only to hit nothing. He then quickly saw the shadow's feet standing on the end of his blade.

"What the…," was the only thing Jonathan had time to say as his shadow back flipped off his sword, kicking Jonathan square beneath the chin in the process. He grunted as he was kicked, and grunted again as he hit the ground about five feet away from where he had been standing a moment before.

_My sword isn't going to work,_ Jonathan thought as he stood up quickly to block another attack from the shadow, _But what else do I have? He'll just steer clear of my bombs. And he'll stay too close to use my bow. The Megaton Hammer? Maybe that'll work._

Jonathan quickly back flipped away from his shadow to give him some time to sheathe his sword, and then grabbed the hammer from off of his back. He was just getting in a defensive stance when the shadow came at him again. This time, Jonathan angled his shield to deflect the blow, and then swung around the Megaton Hammer from right to left as his shadow self was recovering. His shadow never knew what happened, as the blow hit him in the torso area. It didn't matter that its shield stopped the blow from hitting it directly. It went flying to the left and hit the ground about 10 feet away from where it was hit.

Now Jonathan quickly ran over to the shadow with the Megaton Hammer raised over his head. "DIE!" he shouted as he brought the hammer down on his shadow self…

Or at least tried to. The shadow rolled away from Jonathan just as the hammer was going to kill it. It got up and came at Jonathan again with a fast sword stab. But Jonathan was able to duck under the stab, and then jabbed the hammer into his shadow self. The shadow jumped back a few feet to avoid the hammer. _Perfect,_ Jonathan thought with a smile as he quickly got close to the shadow again and swung the hammer around from the right to the left at him again.

This time, the shadow tried to block the hammer with his shield. He succeeded, but his entire body was thrown way off balance by the hit. Then, Jonathan quickly reversed the course of the hammer, hitting his shadow square in the chest area. The shadow once again went flying and ended up lying on the ground. Jonathan ran over to the shadow, which was still recovering from the blow and was unable to move. Jonathan swung the Megaton Hammer onto the shadow's chest area.

The shadow raised its shield to stop the blow, but it was a fruitless matter. The Megaton Hammer was designed to crush flesh and bone regardless of what armor was defending the enemy. The hammer crushed the shadow's shield arm into its chest, debilitating the shadow completely.

"Now you die," Jonathan said as he lifted the hammer again and brought it down onto the shadow's head. The shadow twitched, then went motionless and disappeared. Jonathan let out a loud cry of victory and raised the hammer over his head with both arms as the room around him began to change. The walls and ceiling and floor turned into the blue colored stone that Jonathan had been seeing throughout the Water Temple. Then he heard the bars in front of the barred door lift themselves.

"Don't want to go through that again," Jonathan said as he attached the Megaton Hammer on his back again and wiped his forehead clear of sweat. He then felt the area under his chin. It felt sore to touch it. "Damn," Jonathan said, "Almost definitely a bruise. But I guess it could have been worse." He walked through the unbarred door and found a large brown treasure chest.

"Another item, eh?" Jonathan remarked as he walked to the front of the chest, unlocked the latch, and opened the chest. Inside he found… "Another hookshot?" Jonathan inquired as he picked up the new item. It looked like the hookshot that Jonathan already had, except that the chamber where the chain was held was about twice as large on the new one. Jonathan walked back into the previous room and pulled out his old hookshot in his left hand and his new one in his right. He launched both at the same time and saw that the new hookshot went out twice as far as the old one.

"I think I'll call this one a longshot," Jonathan remarked as he wound both chains up again and put the old hookshot in a pouch on his back with some other items, "I'll give the hookshot to Zelda." He then walked back into the room where he had found the longshot and saw a hole in the floor behind the chest.

"I guess I have no choice," Jonathan remarked as he jumped down into the hole, "Onward I go."

----------

Zelda made her way back to the central room of the Water Temple and thought for a moment about what to do next. As she thought, she looked to the north and saw a door that was out of her reach. "That's probably the way to that creature Ruto told us about," Zelda said as she looked at the ledge that door was on more carefully. She saw another hookshot target that would get them onto the ledge. "But that target is out of reach, even for Jonathan's hookshot," Zelda realized, "So how do we get to that door?"

Suddenly, Zelda heard footsteps approaching the central room from the west. She walked over to see Jonathan walking slowly into the central room. Zelda gasped at the sight of Jonathan. There was a huge bruise forming under his chin and he was almost struggling just to keep walking, it seemed.

"Do I look that bad?" Jonathan asked her. He had one hell of a time getting through that particular part of the temple.

Zelda nodded her head. "You look like a wreck," she explained, "You need to rest."

Jonathan shook his head as he jumped into the water and swam up to the central column where Zelda was standing. "No time for rest," Jonathan said as he pulled himself onto the walkway around the column, "Besides, I just got this." He pulled out his longshot.

"That's a new one?" Zelda asked.

"Yeah, and it has a longer reach than the old one," Jonathan explained as he pulled the hookshot out of his bag, "Which I want you to have. I'm not strong enough to lift myself onto platforms with you on my back."

"Right," Zelda said as she took the hookshot from Jonathan, "Just press the button, and then twist the handle, right?"

"Yeah, that's about right," Jonathan answered.

"By the way," Zelda remarked, "I think I found the way to that creature Ruto told us about earlier." She then pointed toward the northern platform.

"Yeah, that's probably it," Jonathan said, "But we need to find that key first."

Zelda pulled out a map of the Water Temple she had found earlier and Jonathan marked off the rooms he had gone through. "That means the key must be located in these rooms in the north on the first floor," she said as she went over the map again, "But there's no northern passage on the first floor."

"Then it must be through that gated corridor on the second floor," Jonathan remarked, as he waved down toward the opening he was talking about, "Which means we're going to need to get the water back to the level of the second floor."

"I can do that by myself, Jonathan," Zelda said, "You need to rest for a little here."

"Are you sure you can manage without me?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah," Zelda replied, "It's not too hard." She then dived into the water and sank down toward the western corridor on the first floor.

Jonathan looked into the water and saw what had caught Zelda so off guard. "Damn, I am a wreck!" he said, "When I get back to the Forest Temple, I'm going to demand a hot bath."

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Dusk was approaching over Lake Hylia. Princess Ruto looked at Orizon and asked, "What do you intend to do, Orizon?"

"What do I intend to do?" Orizon asked rhetorically, "Why, I intend to get that Spiritual Stone of yours."

"But why?" Ruto asked quickly.

"Because King Ganondorf wants at least one Spiritual Stone," Orizon explained, "If you give me yours, I'll release you from that prison and leave."

Ruto lowered her head for about five seconds, and then said, "I just can't do that."

"Then I'll leave you to die on this island," Orizon warned.

"You do realize that would take at least 24 more hours to do, right?" Ruto asked as she crossed her arms over her chest, "My people will come to look for my rescuers and myself well before then."

"Well, of course I realize that," Orizon answered as he walked toward Ruto, "But the real question is if Jonathan knows that. Tell me Princess Ruto, does he?"

Ruto swallowed. _Unless Zelda told him that, no,_ she thought in dismay.

Orizon smiled as Ruto turned her gaze to the ground again. "I thought as much," Orizon remarked as he turned away from her and waited.

----------

Zelda couldn't bear to look at Jonathan as they approached the Triforce symbol to raise the water level back to the third floor. Though he had succeeded in getting the key Ruto told them about, he was almost completely exhausted by now. Zelda reached the Triforce symbol and played her ocarina to raise the water to its highest level.

"Well, we're almost done here," Jonathan remarked as he turned to jump into the water in the central room.

"Jonathan," Zelda began, "I'm sorry for all the things I have put you through today."

"Hey, save the apologies for when they really matter," Jonathan said as he and Zelda jumped into the water and swam to the platform around the third floor level on the outside of the column, "And that's when we have that last Spiritual Stone and are back inside the safety of the Forest Temple." Jonathan added another line mentally, but he didn't dare to speak it aloud.

Zelda knew that she would be crying later over how much Jonathan was put through on this day. "You're right," Zelda said as they walked toward the northern side of the walkway.

"Well, you first," Jonathan said as they got into position to head through the northern corridor on the third floor.

Zelda turned to face Jonathan and said, "The hookshot won't reach that target."

"Sure it will," Jonathan replied, "Just try and you'll see."

"Okay, I will," Zelda said as she pulled out the hookshot and aimed it at the hookshot target on the platform above and ahead of her, and then pressed the button on the hookshot handle. Indeed, it was long enough, as the tip buried itself into the soft material of the target. Zelda twisted the handle and flew up to the ledge and pulled herself onto the platform.

Jonathan then did the same with his longshot, but his first shot at the target missed slightly. The second was on target, and Jonathan climbed onto the platform as well.

"Please tell me you missed that first one on purpose," Zelda begged.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Jonathan insisted as he began walking with Zelda through the door ahead of them. Inside, they found a ramp leading up to a large door with a very ornate lock on it. On the ramp, though, were three razor traps, sliding back and forth on the ramp.

Jonathan was about to pull out the Megaton Hammer to deal with the razor traps, but Zelda said, "No, I'll take care of them." She then put her hands in front of her and said some sort of incantation. Then, suddenly, a blue light appeared in Zelda's hands that spread toward the razor traps. When the blue wave reached the razor traps, they immediately came to a stop.

"Nice," Jonathan remarked as he and Zelda began trudging up the ramp toward the door. Once there, Zelda took out the key for the lock and unlocked the door. Jonathan led Zelda into the final room of the Water Temple.

Inside this room, Jonathan saw that there was a walkway around the edge of the room which surrounded what appeared to be a pool of water with four square platforms that rose out of the pool. Around the edges of the room were spikes that shot out of the wall.

"Where is it?" Zelda asked as she looked around the room.

Jonathan walked to the edge of the pool and looked into the water. "Zelda, this pool isn't filled with water," he said.

"Are you sure?" Zelda asked as she walked next to him.

"Positive, it's too blue," Jonathan said as he unsheathed his sword, "Get back."

As Zelda got back to the door, a blue gel-like tentacle rose out of the pool with a red ball-like creature near the end of the tentacle. Jonathan immediately slashed at the red ball, but his sword was deflected by the blue gel in the tentacle.

"You'll have to pull the creature out of the tentacle before you can kill it!" Zelda cried. Hearing her words, Jonathan grabbed his longshot with his left hand and aimed at the red creature, but it had sunk back into the pool by this time.

Jonathan quickly ran over to the east side of the room and waited for the tentacle to rise out of the water again. When it did, however, it tired to crush Jonathan under its weight. Jonathan was barely able to roll out of the way, and then aimed his longshot at the red ball, which Jonathan now saw was an eye. Jonathan fired the longshot, which hit its mark. Jonathan pulled the eye out of the tentacle and swung his sword at the eye. The eye never stood a chance, as it was sliced in half and destroyed quickly.

Jonathan laughed and said, "That was pathetically easy. Your people see these things as terrible beasts?"

Then a small glowing blue circle appeared on the ground near Jonathan. "Hey, let's get back to Ruto," Jonathan told Zelda.

"Fine by me," Zelda responded as she and Jonathan walked into the blue circle and disappeared.

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Author's Notes: Yes, I know the boss battle scene sucks, but I wanted to show my frustration with how easy Zelda games are nowadays. Back in the old days, bosses only seemed easy because it was so hard just getting to them through the dungeons. But now, the bosses are easy simply because they are too easy. Especially the final bosses (See the final bosses of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess). So that's why this battle scene sucks. Well, that and I'm not very good at them.

Well, new chapter next Friday, unless I find myself too burdened with work to get around to it. Until then, read and review everyone.


	13. Chapter 12: Orizon's Return

Author's Notes: First of all, I'd like to send out a dedication to all those people who we lost on September 11, 2001. It has been six years since that day when the worst part of humanity reared its ugly head and destroyed any sense of security we once had. The indiscriminate murder of 3,000 innocent civilians was both horrible and inexcusable. Nothing can possibly justify such a terrible act of violence against innocent people. Let me be frank, terrorism rarely works, and it will fail in this case as well. History will eventually put Osama bin Laden and those like him into the roles of villains who are forever shunned, a role shared by those like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

And now that my rant against Islamic Fundamentalism is finished, I'd like to thank those who reviewed my story in the past week.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, I remember some things, but for the things I don't remember, I usually turn to game guides to refresh my memory on the complete layout. My thanks go to GameFAQs for that. And like I said, that scene with the boss reflects my frustration with how easy the Zelda games are nowadays. Thanks for your feedback.

And now, the show must go on.

**Chapter 12: Orizon's Return**

Orizon heard the sound of a warp portal being used. He turned around and saw a blue light near the field that Ruto was enclosed in.

"They did it!" Ruto exclaimed.

Orizon then touched the field, which made it so that no one outside it could hear what anyone inside was saying. Then he looked back at the light and saw Jonathan and Zelda appear. Orizon was shocked by Jonathan's state. He had a huge purple bruise forming under his chin and he appeared to be leaning toward one side. _How can he stand up like that? He can't possibly fight me like this,_ he thought. He was about to find out just how wrong he was.

"Ruto!" Zelda gasped as she ran over to her friend, only to be stopped by the purple field, "Orizon is here!"

Jonathan immediately raised his shield and unsheathed his sword. As he tried to walk, he stumbled and nearly collapsed to the ground.

Zelda saw this and ran to his side. "Jonathan, you can't possibly fight him like this," she said as she helped him to his feet.

"I have to fight him off," Jonathan struggled to say, "I must."

"But you cannot possibly win," they heard a familiar voice say. They turned around.

"Orizon," Jonathan growled, "Zelda, get back."

"Jonathan, my boy, you are too wounded to fight me. You're too exhausted," Orizon informed, "Just give me the Sacred Stones and I'll leave you alone."

"Why do you have Princess Ruto locked up like that?" Jonathan demanded, "What has she done to harm you?"

"Do you know how long a Zora can survive out of water?" Orizon asked with a devilish smile on his face.

Jonathan's eyes went wide. "You fiend!" he exclaimed.

"Jonathan…" Zelda started, trying to tell him that Ruto was in no danger at the moment.

"Zelda, I said get back," Jonathan interrupted forcefully.

"Jonathan, I will make things easy on you this time," Orizon informed, "If you can even wound me, I will leave you alone, seeing that you cannot possibly kill me."

"Your overconfidence will be your downfall!" Jonathan screamed as he ran at Orizon, running on adrenaline alone at this point.

Orizon was surprised by Jonathan's sudden outburst, but he was ready and put up a barrier around him that deflected the strike. Jonathan backed away.

Orizon laughed and said, "Or, if you want to, you can surrender the Sacred Stones to me."

At this point, Zelda was ready to hand over the Goron's Ruby to Orizon, but Jonathan got up again and pulled out the Megaton Hammer. "See how you stand up to this," he snarled as he swung it around at Orizon.

The blow caused no physical damage to Orizon, but it did cause him to fly away from Jonathan by about 20 feet before Orizon was able to gain his bearings again. _That bought me some time,_ Jonathan thought as he stumbled over to Ruto. "Get back!" Jonathan said as Ruto stepped away from the edge of the purple field and Jonathan swung his hammer into the field. Nothing happened.

"Damn it!" Jonathan exclaimed as he noticed Ruto was frantically waving to him, "What is it?"

He listened and saw Ruto was moving her mouth, but he heard nothing. "I can't hear you," Jonathan informed.

Ruto was about to do something else when Jonathan dived away from where he was standing as a purple blast of energy exploded where he had been standing only moments earlier. "Submit and I'll let you live, Jonathan," Orizon called as he fired another blast of energy at young man. The blast hit the purple field surrounding Ruto and dissipated on it.

_I can use this thing as a shield,_ Jonathan realized as he tried to stay on the opposite side of the field as Orizon, playing a game of cat and mouse as he hovered in the air. Ruto followed him around, frantically trying to tell him something.

"Ruto, I can't hear you," Jonathan said again when her eyes went wide. She had just seen the bow and the quiver of arrows on his back.

She then put her hands in front of her face, as if suddenly blinded by a bright light and closed her eyes tightly.

"Oh great, charades," Jonathan said as he tried to keep one eye on Ruto's gestures and the other on where Orizon was, "Uh, blinded?"

Ruto nodded, then gestured her hands as if Jonathan should continue.

"Uh, blinded… by light. A bright light?"

Ruto nodded, and then pointed toward the sun, low in the western sky.

Jonathan looked where Ruto was pointing. "The sun!" he shouted, "But what about the sun?"

Ruto then made a pose as if she was firing a bow with an arrow.

"Fire an arrow… into the sun?" Jonathan asked, unsure if that was what Ruto meant.

Ruto nodded very enthusiastically. That was exactly what she wanted Jonathan to do.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Jonathan said as he pulled out his Megaton Hammer and waited for Orizon to come around the field into view of Jonathan. He fired another purple energy blast. Jonathan was barely able to dodge it, moving his head to the right to do so, as he swung the hammer around and hit Orizon again, sending him flying for a little bit. Just long enough for Jonathan to drop the Megaton Hammer and pull out his bow and an arrow from his quiver. He quickly loaded the arrow into his bow, and then aimed up at the setting sun and fired the arrow. Jonathan waited for what would happen when he heard another purple energy blast coming at him from behind. He quickly rolled out of the way, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. He was losing whatever was keeping him going right now, and he felt that he was losing it fast.

Then, he saw something bright falling toward the ground from the direction of the sun. Jonathan squinted through sweaty hair and exhaustion and saw…

_My arrow!_ he realized, _But it's different somehow. Is it on fire?_

The arrow came to rest on the ground near the secret passage from Zora's Domain to Lake Hylia, where Zelda was now standing. Jonathan saw Zelda waving him over, but Jonathan was already on his way. He jumped from the island in the middle of the lake just as another purple blast of energy hit the ground near his feet. Jonathan screamed as he tumbled through the air and crashed into the water, propelled by the shockwave of the magical blast.

Zelda gasped. "JONATHAN!" she screamed as she saw his body twist through the air and crashed into the otherwise tranquil waters of Lake Hylia. She had pushed him so hard, and now she had caused…

Then she saw Orizon fire again into the water. "Stubborn fool!" she heard him yell, "Why don't you die?"

Zelda looked into the water and saw a blue shape swimming underwater for the shore. It was Jonathan! He swam as fast as he could for the shoreline as he barely avoided Orizon's magic blasts of energy. He was able to make it to the land, where Zelda quickly grabbed him and pulled him near his arrow, then put herself between Jonathan and Orizon.

"Zelda! Are you insane!?" Jonathan asked incredulously as he tried to force Zelda away from him, but not having the strength to do so, "He'll kill both of us!"

"No, he won't. Trust me," Zelda responded, "And get that arrow."

"Princess Zelda, get out of the way," Orizon commanded as he tried to move around her, "This fight doesn't concern you."

"I'm the one with the Goron's Ruby, Orizon," Zelda responded, continuing to shield Jonathan as he grabbed the arrow discretely.

"It is burning," Jonathan whispered. Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling in his body, something he had never felt before and something he could not put into words. However, as the feeling spread through his arms and into the rest of his body, he felt more powerful in some way. Whatever it was, it gave him the boost that he needed now to continue the battle.

"It's a Fire Arrow," Zelda explained, "It should pierce his barrier for a short time, if you can fire it."

"I think I can now," Jonathan said quietly as he took out his bow again and loaded the Fire Arrow into it. Strangely enough, while the tip of the arrow was engulfed in flames, the wooden projectile was not being burned at all. _Is this that magic Impa told me about earlier?_ he wondered as he devised some kind of plan.

Orizon approached the two until he was in range of Jonathan's longshot. "I will kill both of you," Orizon threatened.

"You know that I know you just can't do that," Zelda claimed. It seemed that she struck a chord in Orizon with that statement. His awareness of Jonathan faltered for a moment.

That was the lapse Jonathan was waiting for. He pulled out his longshot and put it in his left hand so that he could still hold his bow to fire it, leaving his right hand free to unsheathe his sword and attack Orizon… if he lived that long. A lot of "ifs" needed to happen right now.

"NOW!" Jonathan yelled as Zelda dove to the left and him to the right. It confused Orizon long enough for Jonathan to aim his bow at Orizon, then let the Fire Arrow fly. As he let the arrow fly, Jonathan felt some of the new energies within him disappear. The Fire Arrow burned right through Orizon's barrier and caused it to disappear, although it missed Orizon himself completely. Orizon screamed in frustration as he prepared to fire another energy blast at Jonathan when he felt something hit his dark purple robes. It was the hook of Jonathan's longshot, which Jonathan now used to quickly pull Orizon to him. Orizon tried to jump away from Jonathan as soon as he was able, but Jonathan was just too quick, unsheathing his sword and swinging it at Orizon.

The blow would not be lethal, but it cut the skin of Orizon's torso, causing him to start bleeding. Orizon felt the wound and was incredulous. "Damn you!" he growled at Jonathan as he clutched his chest.

"You'd better leave now, or I'll run you through!" Jonathan snarled as he got into position to run the sword through Orizon's body.

Orizon smiled as he looked at Jonathan. "We will meet again Jonathan, and next time, you may find that the tides of fate will place us together as allies," he stated as he lifted his arms over his head. A huge cloud of purple smoke formed and by the time it cleared, Orizon had vanished. And so did the field surrounding Princess Ruto.

But Jonathan never saw that. By this time, he was so exhausted he collapsed to the ground on his face. He didn't even have the time to contemplate what Orizon had told him when everything around him just went black.

----------

When Jonathan came to again, he saw the night sky above him. He felt that his body was sore all over and that his legs were in quite a bit of pain, along with his chest. Then, he remembered what had happened to him. The memories of his engagement with Orizon made his overall discomfort at least tolerable. _I'm surprised I'm still alive right now,_ Jonathan thought.

"Zelda? Ruto?" he asked, and then suddenly remembered what Orizon had said about Ruto, "Ruto!" He then looked around him. He was still on the shoreline of Lake Hylia.

"You're awake, thank the Goddesses!" he heard Zelda say from his left. He turned and saw her silhouette in the moonlight approaching him.

"How's Ruto?" he asked.

"I'm fine," he heard Ruto say as she got out of the waters of Lake Hylia and walked toward Jonathan from behind Zelda, "Orizon misled you."

"He did?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, Zoras can survive out of water for 24 hours, and Ruto was never even close to touching that," Zelda explained as she knelt down at Jonathan's side, "You think you can walk on your own?"

"Not sure," Jonathan said as he tried to get up. After about 15 seconds, he finally got to his feet and stumbled a little before he had a sure footing. "Yeah, I can walk," Jonathan said as they led him back to the secret passageway.

"Hey, how come we don't just teleport back to the Forest Temple, Zelda?" Jonathan asked as they began to walk into the water.

"Because Impa is expecting us to return to Zora's Domain," Zelda replied.

"Oh," Jonathan responded as they dove into the warm water of Lake Hylia and through the secret passageway back to Zora's Domain, "I'm surprised they haven't sent a search party for us yet."

----------

"Think we ought to send a search party now?" Impa asked Marlu as they waited near the other end of the passageway for Zelda and Jonathan to return. Impa was getting very impatient and worried by this point.

Marlu was about to respond when they saw Princess Ruto swimming up to the surface of the water of Zora's Domain. And they saw Princess Zelda and Jonathan follow her.

"What have you two been…," Impa began to ask in a very harsh way when she saw the condition Jonathan was in and suddenly ran into the water and grabbed him and pulled him out of the water, "We need to get you back to the Forest Temple, and quickly!"

"Wait!" Ruto cried as she showed a stone embedded with blue sapphires, "I must give this to you, as a token of my appreciation."

Zelda took the stone, called the Zora's Sapphire, and hurried over to Impa and Jonathan. "Thank you," Zelda said to Ruto with a bow.

"Now, if you don't mind," Impa said impatiently.

"Am I in that bad a condition?" Jonathan asked.

Before Impa had a chance to answer, Zelda had played a tune on her ocarina and she, Jonathan and Impa were teleported to the Forest Temple.

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Author's Notes: Yes, this chapter seems a bit awkward. The whole plot change really didn't fit well here. Perhaps I should have removed this fight between Orizon and Jonathan altogether. The battle itself is also not very well written. Sorry about all that, but the story will get better, I think.

By the way, thank you to all the readers out there who have pushed this story to over 1,000 hits in the past week.

Net chapter comes out next Friday. In the meantime, read and review please.


	14. Chapter 13: Rest for the Weary

Author's Notes: Thanks to those of you who reviewed my story last week.

bluenavydragon: Thanks for your support. And I think those later chapters are going to get a whole lot better in a few weeks.

Infernal Flame Zero: I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with that particular combination of items being used in sequence, but I didn't steal it from anyone else knowingly. And I'm not a big fan of intentionally making all chapters similar in length. Rather, each of my chapters tends to cover a significant event. It's just the way I write. There are some longer chapters coming up, though.

SPark681: Thanks for your first review. I am glad you are enjoying this story of mine.

Before the story continues, I'd like to give a BIG shout-out to the Holy Cross football team, who beat our rivals at Harvard last Saturday 31-28 at Fitton Field here in Worcester, MA. Great job guys! And now for the next chapter.

**Chapter 13: Rest for the Weary**

Jonathan thought that the rest he had gotten after his fight with Orizon was enough to help him completely recover. He figured that about six hours of sleep would do that for him. It was now obvious to him that he was wrong, as he collapsed in the Main Atrium of the Forest Temple from sheer exhaustion.

"Jonathan, are you okay?" Zelda asked. Jonathan could hear tears building in her eyes.

"I'm fine," Jonathan lied, "But I'm going to need a hand to get to my room."

"No," Impa said as she picked up Jonathan by his left shoulder, "You're not going to your room right now."

"Then where am I going?" Jonathan asked as Impa began to assist him in walking toward his room.

"To a place where we can heal you," Marlu informed as he easily kept up with the group as they walked into the courtyard of Jonathan's room.

Once there, Impa walked Jonathan over to the stream that ran through the courtyard outside his room. Once he was there, he was slowly lowered face-up into the water.

"Is this supposed to help me heal?" Jonathan asked doubtfully. His face was just above the level of the cool water that flowed past him.

"It will," Marlu answered as he walked to the head of the stream. "How much healing will he need?" he asked Impa.

"Give him the works. He needs it," Impa replied.

Marlu raised his staff over the water and began to chant in a strange language that not even the Stone of Voices could translate for Jonathan. However, the chanting did something as the stream began to turn into a viscous blue fluid. Jonathan could feel it cling to his clothing, and then seep through that onto his body. And the fluid went further than that. He began to panic when the fluid started to penetrate his skin. "What the hell is this stuff!?" he asked quickly, "Get it off me!" He tried to push himself out of the stream, but he didn't have the strength to do so.

"Don't be alarmed, Jonathan," Zelda said in that soothing voice of hers, "This is what we call Blue Potion. It will help you to heal faster than you would otherwise."

"It's getting through my skin!" he informed as he started to squirm.

"Don't move! It's completely normal!" Zelda reassured, "The potion needs to get inside your body for it to work properly."

"Okay, if you say so," Jonathan said as he lay back in the stream, "How long will it take for me to heal?"

"I'd say two days, but you'll rest for a while," Impa answered, "You've done much in one day, Jonathan. I am impressed."

"I appreciate that," Jonathan said. He understood how infrequently Impa used those three words.

"I think that it's time we leave him alone," Marlu stated.

"I'll come shortly," Zelda said as Impa and Marlu walked out of the room.

"Zelda, don't blame yourself," Jonathan said once the door had closed. He knew what was coming.

"I almost killed you out there!" Zelda replied softly as she began to cry, "For a moment, I thought I had killed you! The way you crashed into the water like that, I thought you had died!"

"Well, I didn't die out there," Jonathan assured, "I am very much alive. And I forced Orizon to go away again."

"You sacrificed so much today, Jonathan," Zelda stated, "We are forever indebted to you."

"Ganondorf and Orizon are still alive, so don't thank me for anything yet," Jonathan reminded, "Speaking of Orizon, why didn't he just kill you?"

"It's complicated, Jonathan," Zelda explained, "And you don't need to know the answer to that right now."

"Zelda, the first time I met Orizon, he told me that you and he were related. What happened earlier today proved that in my mind, though I don't want to believe it," Jonathan stated, "Is what he told me true?"

Zelda hesitated for a few moments, then answered, "Yes, we are related."

"Then why would he kill your mother?" Jonathan asked.

"He didn't," Zelda corrected, "But now is not the time for this. You need to rest. I'll explain everything to you when the time is right."

Jonathan hated to hear that again, but he decided that it would be best if he didn't force the issue. "Okay, if you say so," he said.

"Well, I think I had better go now. Impa will get all nervous if I'm not in her sight for too long," Zelda stated as she began to walk away from Jonathan.

"Zelda," Jonathan said as she began to walk to the door, "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault." He knew that it was a lie in a sense. He hadn't volunteered himself for these tasks, but he felt that Zelda had done the only thing she could do if he was here because of destiny.

"Thanks Jonathan," he heard her say as she left his courtyard.

----------

"So, how banged up was our hero?" General Attula asked Impa in the bottom floor of the Forest Temple. King Alazon was sitting on Attula's right.

Impa had this strange ability to touch someone and immediately know what their injuries were. "I was surprised that he was able to walk on his own," Impa began, "The boy had many injuries. First, he had a huge bruise under his jaw, almost as if he were hit there from the ground very hard by a blunt object, perhaps a booby trap of some kind. Second, he had six of his ribs either broken or crushed. And another three were cracked. He had a number of minor internal injuries and both of his legs were nearly broken. However, a few days soaking in blue potion should get him all fixed up. I say he'll be ready to go in a week."

"That's quite a few injuries," King Alazon stated.

"He also should have been completely exhausted physically, yet he was still able to walk on his own a little," Impa stated while she shook her head, "That I cannot understand. It should be impossible."

"This guy comes from a world completely different from ours," Attula said, "Perhaps his people have to endure situations like that on a more frequent basis."

"You think his people are engaged in perpetual warfare?" Alazon asked his longtime friend. He didn't know how close to correct he truly was.

"It is a possibility, although Jonathan didn't look like a warrior of any kind to me at first," Attula answered, "But he has been made into one very quickly."

"I also was able to sense a certain substance that had flooded his body earlier. The closest comparison I could think of was juringal, except this was much stronger than that," Impa stated, referring to the chemical in the bodies of Sheikahs that allowed them to stay alert for three days straight without needing rest, "Almost as if designed to keep his body fighting when nothing should be able to move anymore in his body, let alone fight."

"That's intriguing," Attula said, "What exactly does this substance do?"

"It quite simply forces his heart to pump blood at extraordinarily high levels. And it also releases stores of energy in his body to keep him going for a short while at a high level otherwise unattainable," Impa explained.

"That's incredible," Alazon said, "Have you come up with a name for this substance yet?"

"I think Jonathan knows what it's called," Impa answered, "I'll ask him tomorrow."

"Now if only we could come up with something like that for our soldiers," Attula mused, "But instead of an energy booster, making it a courage booster." He had always been frustrated that among Hylians outside of the Royal Family and Link, he was the bravest by a huge margin.

----------

The first thing Zelda did after she had gotten dressed the next morning was to prepare a breakfast for Jonathan. Of course, she could have simply gotten one of the royal servants to prepare his breakfast for her, but she felt that she owed something to Jonathan for all that he did for her yesterday and for simply ripping him from his life without warning. And cooking was something that gave Princess Zelda a sense of accomplishment that was usually absent in her life of luxury. She carried the meal from her courtyard to Jonathan's.

"Good morning, Zelda," Jonathan said as Zelda closed the door behind her. He was feeling slightly better than he was just 12 hours ago.

"Good morning, Jonathan," she replied as she carried over a brown, sturdy wooden tray with Jonathan's breakfast over to him, "I made you some breakfast."

"You made me breakfast?" he asked with a tone of disbelief in his voice.

"You don't believe me?" Zelda asked, feeling slightly hurt.

"Quite frankly, no," Jonathan replied, "Then again, this place is different from where I come from."

"What are people like me like in your world?" Zelda asked.

"Well, in my world," Jonathan began to explain, "Princesses don't make breakfast. They have people who do that for them."

"Oh, I could have had someone else make this for you, but I felt that I owed you something for yesterday."

"Well, that's awfully nice of you, Zelda," Jonathan said, "Thank you."

"I kinda like cooking anyway," Zelda said as she put the tray on top of Jonathan's chest.

Jonathan looked at his meal. It all looked very good to him and he was starving, since he hadn't eaten in almost a whole day. He decided to try the round red thing that looked like an apple. He bit into it and found that the food tasted sweet, like honey. "This tastes really good," he said as he chewed on the food, "What is it?"

"We call it paulk. It comes from some trees," Zelda explained as she kneeled on the grass to the left of Jonathan.

Jonathan decided to try what he thought looked like scrambled eggs on the plate in the middle of the tray. He used the metal fork to grab some of the food off the plate then pushed it into his mouth. Indeed, they tasted like scrambled eggs, except they were the best scrambled eggs he had ever tasted. "Eggs?" he asked Zelda.

"Yes," she answered, "From the Lon Lon Ranch. You like your eggs like that?"

"Yes, I do," he answered as he tried to drink part of the white-colored beverage he had been given. "Milk?" he asked as he picked up the glass.

"Lon Lon Milk," Zelda clarified, "The best milk in all Hyrule. Go on and try it." She was getting very excited at how Jonathan was definitely enjoying her meal.

Jonathan took a drink of Lon Lon Milk. Jonathan had always liked milk, but this was the best milk he had ever had in his life. It was so sweet to taste. "This stuff is great!" Jonathan said.

Zelda smiled and replied, "I'm glad you like it so much."

"So you did all this for me?" Jonathan asked.

Zelda nodded. "It was the least I could do after all you did for us," she explained, then she paused for a moment in thought, "Well, maybe I could do something more for you right now."

"What might that be?" Jonathan asked, now very curious.

Zelda smiled as she looked back at the door to the courtyard and then changed the position of her body so that she was looking the same way Jonathan's head was pointing and so that her knees were next to Jonathan's chest. Then, she slowly bent her body over so that her face approached Jonathan's until she closed her eyes as her lips met Jonathan's.

At first, Jonathan was unsure of what Zelda was trying to do, but he also closed his eyes and the two shared in a long kiss. After about five seconds, Zelda moved back onto her knees again as she opened her eyes.

"That felt even better than the food," Jonathan said with a chuckle.

Zelda chuckled as well. "So you liked it," she stated.

"Yeah, I liked it a lot," Jonathan answered.

Zelda smiled again and then said, "Well, I have to leave you now, Jonathan. Get well soon."

"I'll see you later, then," he said as Zelda got up and walked out of the courtyard. Once the door had closed behind her, all that Jonathan could think of was how familiar that kiss felt. _If I didn't know better, I would think that she has kissed me before,_ he thought to himself, then had a realization, _Yes, she has. In that dream, she did kiss me._ Jonathan figured that there was more to his dreams than he originally thought, but their complete comprehension was still beyond him as he went back to eating.

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Author's Notes: Okay, this chapter doesn't have a lot of action in it, but it does progress the plot. The nature of Jonathan and Zelda's relationship is going to become very important in this story and this trilogy, although I bet a lot of you have already figured out where this relationship is going.

New chapter next week. Until then, read and review please.


	15. Chapter 14: The Kingdom of Hyrule for a

Author's Notes: Thanks to all the readers out there who read my story in the past week, and very special thanks to those who reviewed my story.

bluenavydragon: Thanks for your continued support. The writing should get a whole lot better with the next chapter. And yes, that comes next Friday.

Infernal Flame Zero: Actually, this is the second kiss between Jonathan and Zelda, if you count the dream sequence in the prequel chapter. Things are looking very good for Jonathan, as long as he recovers from those injuries he got. Thanks for being such a loyal fan. Your good karma will treat you well.

And now, it is time for the next chapter.

**Chapter 14: The Kingdom of Hyrule for a Horse!**

Jonathan was in great shape on the morning of the ninth day after he had sustained his injuries. The Blue Potion really had helped him to recover a lot quicker than he would have otherwise. The huge bruise on the bottom of his head was gone and all his bones and internal injuries were healed. And the meals that Zelda had provided were excellent, only surpassed by that one kiss she had given him.

Jonathan had suited up in his Kokiri Tunic for today. Zelda had told him last night that they were going somewhere special today. And they were going to do something special. Jonathan didn't know what Zelda had in mind, but he walked into the main atrium of the Forest Temple and saw Zelda wearing something that resembled a burka, similar to one that Jonathan knew the government of Iran had been forcing its women to wear for over a dozen years now. The burka covered all of Zelda's body and clothing except her eyes, her ears, and her hands and it was colored black.

"Zelda… that is you, right?" Jonathan asked, who had suddenly become unsure as to the person's identity.

"Yes, it is I, Jonathan," he heard Zelda's voice say from behind the black cloth covering her mouth.

"Well, why are you wearing this ridiculous burka?" Jonathan asked. He had always found the social restrictions placed on women in most Islamic societies to be completely absurd.

Zelda was puzzled at first, then said while referring to the black cloth she was wearing, "Oh this? I have to wear this today."

"Why?" Jonathan inquired.

"Because we'll be going out onto open ground today," Zelda answered, "And I can't be seen as the person I am, in case Ganondorf has some of his goons out watching."

"Where are we going, anyway?" Jonathan asked as Zelda began to lead the way to the outside of the Forest Temple.

"You'll see soon enough," Zelda told him once again, "Just make sure you're ready for anything, just in case."

"Are you expecting a fight to occur out there?" Jonathan inquired.

"I'm not expecting one to occur, but you can never be too careful, I suppose," Zelda responded.

Jonathan nodded in agreement as he checked to make sure that he had his sword, shield, bow, quiver with arrows, and his other items as well in his pack. "I'm prepared," he reported as they made it outside the Forest Temple main entrance. Zelda then led the way out of the Sacred Forest Meadow, thought the Lost Woods and then out of the Kokiri Forest.

As they walked across the bridge that connected the Kokiri Forest to a place Jonathan knew was called Hyrule Field, Jonathan couldn't help but take a look around at the setting around him. All the trees and the green grass and the warm sun… even the sound of Jonathan's leather boots against the wooden bridge delighted him. Whatever feelings of homesickness he had left in him just flew out of his mind forever. Hyrule became his new permanent home in that instant. He wanted to stay here forever.

"Jonathan? Are you still coming?" he heard Zelda ask, which shook Jonathan out of his daze.

"Oh, yeah I am," he replied quickly, "Just got a little distracted." He then caught up with Zelda and the two left Kokiri Forest behind and entered the area called Hyrule Field.

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From the top of the southern wall of Hyrule Castle Town, two impish creatures wearing armor and bearing weapons were standing guard, watching Hyrule Field with great intensity. They knew their lives were completely expendable if they screwed up at all in their duties. One individual held their lives in his hand. And that individual was sitting on his throne in Hyrule Castle just to the north of them. That man was King Ganondorf.

"Hey, look at that!" one creature said quickly to the other one as he looked through a spyglass at Hyrule Field.

What both creatures saw were two individuals coming from the Kokiri Forest. One was shorter than the other one; that person was wearing a black sheet over her body (they deduced it was female from the slight bulge in the upper chest area) except for her hands, eyes, and ears. Her ears themselves seemed rather ordinary, though unusually pointed and upright for the average Hylian.

The other individual was slightly taller than the cloaked woman and was obviously male, but he puzzled the creatures even more than the cloaked woman. He appeared to be an adult version of a Kokiri individual, except that it seemed that his ears were completely clipped off and rounded, like a Gerudo's. Unlike a Gerudo, he was light-skinned and was bearing a shield and sword and a bow and a quiver full of arrows, along with a sack that appeared to have something in it. He also kept spinning around slowly, as if very interested in what was around him.

"What's up with that guy?" the first creature asked the second one.

"I have no idea," the second creature responded, "But he seems rather suspicious. Report him to His Majesty."

"How about the woman?" the first one inquired.

"I'd say report her too, but there really is nothing to report. We can't see anything about her, but get a sketch of both of them to Ganondorf," the second creature said, "You don't see many people wearing ureths anymore, so I'd say that's suspicious as well."

"Yes sir," the creature with the spyglass responded as he began to sketch out both individuals on a light slab of white stone with some charcoal, "They appear to be heading for Lon Lon Ranch."

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Jonathan had another feeling of déjà vu as he walked onto the open ground of Hyrule Field. He looked around to soak it all in.

"You like this place?" Zelda asked as she walked by Jonathan.

Jonathan nodded as he followed her again as he said, "Yeah, I do. Very much."

"Well, there'll be plenty of time to look around after we get rid of Ganondorf," Zelda informed, "Right now, that is our destination." She then pointed to a walled area to the west of them.

Jonathan looked at what Zelda was pointing at. "Is that a fortress?" he asked.

"No, much more important," Zelda answered, "That's Lon Lon Ranch."

"You mean where you got the milk from?" Jonathan inquired.

"And just about everything else we eat in Hyrule," Zelda informed as they walked toward the entrance of Lon Lon Ranch.

Lon Lon Ranch provided about 50 of the food that those in the kingdom of Hyrule ate on a daily basis. It was mostly the Hylians that relied on the food that came from the ranch, as the Sheikah were now not very numerous (in fact, Impa and Orizon were the only pureblooded Sheikahs left now), the Gorons survived on a steady diet of rocks, the Zora ate nothing but fish, the Kokiri grew their own food in the Lost Woods, and the Gerudo either grew their own food or stole it. Lon Lon Ranch had originally been built to be simply a horse ranch, but less than ten years ago, King Alazon realized that the Hylians needed to get their food from somewhere, and the area immediately around Lon Lon Ranch was found to be fertile soil. And so an area around the ranch was fenced and tilled and sowed with seeds. Currently, more than 70 people worked on the farming part of the ranch, while only three raised horses in the original operation inside the walls.

As Zelda and Jonathan entered the ranch, Jonathan couldn't help but be impressed with all the food that surrounded him. "This is a lot of food," he remarked.

"It has to be," Zelda responded, "It has to feed all the peoples of Hyrule who don't grow their own food."

Jonathan nodded as he followed Zelda into the walls of Lon Lon Ranch. Once there, he saw what appeared to be a building where people would live on his left and a stable on his right. He heard some cows mooing from inside as well as some horses neighing. Ahead of him, he saw a fenced area with horses trotting around inside. Most had a light brown coat of hair, but one with an ornate saddle had red hair and a white mane.

"If I wanted a horse, I'd get that one," Jonathan told Zelda as he pointed at the red horse.

"Do you even know how to ride one?" Zelda asked as they approached the horse pen.

"I could learn," Jonathan claimed.

"We'll see about that," Zelda responded, "And from now on, call me Amelia."

"Okay… Amelia," Jonathan teased as they reached the open end of the Lon Lon Ranch and saw the entire horse pen. The horses were all running around and grazing inside it and there was a young woman inside the pen with the horses. Jonathan figured that she was about the same age and height as Zelda. She had very bright and long red hair that reached down to her lower back. She was brushing the red horse at the moment and was wearing typically plain farm clothes; a maroon long-sleeved shirt and a skirt of the same color that reached down to her feet, which had sturdy leather shoes on them.

"Why are we here anyway, Zel . . . Amelia?" Jonathan asked.

"We need a horse," Zelda responded as a tall, lean man wearing blue overalls, a white short-sleeved shirt and brown leather shoes yelled out.

"Malon! You need to milk the cows!" the grumpy-looking man said.

"Yes Ingo," the young woman in the horse pen said reluctantly as she hurried off into one of the buildings that Zelda and Jonathan had just passed by. Jonathan caught sight of her beautiful face and looked back as she ran into the building with the cows.

"Hey, who are you two?" Ingo asked Jonathan and Zelda irritably when he saw them.

Jonathan immediately broke out of his trance as Zelda responded, "My name is Amelia and this is my fiancé Jonathan, and we need a horse." Jonathan had to repress the urge to quickly glance at his "fiancé."

"Ah, my apologies for acting so rudely," Ingo apologized, though Jonathan could almost tell he didn't mean it, "It is so hard to find good help these days. Well, take a look. You can have any horse you like . . . for the right price."

Jonathan and Zelda walked into the horse pen and looked around to make it look like they were scouting around. In actuality, Jonathan's mind had already been set on one horse and it seemed like Zelda had been on the same line of thought from the start as well. After about thirty seconds, he and Zelda approached the red-haired horse, which ran away as they approached.

Jonathan laughed at this. "That one appears very shy, don't you agree, my love?" he asked Zelda.

"Yes, she is," Zelda responded, "But she seems just right for our purpose."

Jonathan nodded and walked toward Ingo. "We would like that red-haired horse with the white mane, sir," Jonathan said, "How much will I have to pay for her?"

Ingo looked at the horse in question, though he really didn't need to. "Oh, Epona? I'm sorry, my lad," Ingo replied, "But she's not for sale."

"Just name your price," Jonathan insisted, as he knew Zelda would have more than enough rupees to buy the horse.

"Epona is going to be a birthday gift to the great King Ganondorf," Ingo explained, "I cannot sell her to anyone."

At the mentioning of Ganondorf, Jonathan felt a surge of anger flow through him. He felt a strong influence to unsheathe his sword right now and kill this man in front of him for becoming a traitor to King Alazon. Zelda saw the entire exchange and walked over. "Jonathan, what's wrong?" she asked.

"It seems like this man won't sell us the horse we want," Jonathan said in an irritated manner.

"You can have any other horse, but Epona is not for sale," Ingo pleaded. Jonathan found Ingo to be an absolutely pathetic person.

"Lets go, my love," Jonathan said as he turned his back on Ingo and began to walk away from Ingo, "We'll see if we can find another horse."

"But that one is perfect," Zelda protested as she followed him.

As Jonathan and Zelda made it out of the horse pen, Jonathan said, "The man is allied with Ganondorf."

Zelda looked at Jonathan and replied, "That doesn't matter, but we need that horse."

"We couldn't even get close to it without it running away from us," Jonathan reminded, "But that girl Malon could. Lets talk to her."

Zelda nodded as they walked toward the building which they had seen Malon walk into. When they opened the door, Jonathan and Zelda heard a young woman crying inside the building. "Leave me along, Ingo," Malon said weakly through her tears, "Just go away."

"I'm not Ingo," Jonathan informed, "We just want to talk to you, Malon."

Malon looked up suddenly at the door and saw Jonathan and Zelda walking toward her slowly. "Who are you?" Malon asked as she stood up.

"My name is Jonathan," he began as he started to point to Zelda, "And this is . . . "

"Princess Zelda, good to see you again Malon," Zelda interrupted as she raised the face portion of her burka off her head and walked to Malon.

"Zelda!" Malon exclaimed as the two embraced each other.

"Uh, what's going on here?" a confused Jonathan asked. He assumed that Zelda would keep her cover for this entire operation.

"Malon's father, Talon, is the official owner of the Lon Lon Ranch," Zelda explained, "Malon, where is your father? He's supposed to keep Ingo under control."

Malon started to cry again. "Ingo kicked him out of the ranch," she responded, "Told Ganondorf he was being lazy and Ganondorf forced him to leave. Last I heard, he was in Karkariko Village."

"Again? Malon, we need to use Epona again," Zelda explained, "But Ingo won't sell her to us."

"He says it's going to be a birthday present to Ganondorf," Jonathan explained.

"I'm not surprised, he's always saying that," Malon explained, "But don't you remember her song Zelda?"

"I forgot that a while ago, Malon," Zelda admitted, "I'm sorry."

"That's alright," Malon responded, "I'll teach it to you again. You have your ocarina?"

Zelda pulled the Ocarina of Time out of a hidden pocket in her burka in response.

"Okay, good," Malon said as she put her right index and middle finger into her mouth and began to whistle out a very soothing tune. Jonathan swayed back and forth with his eyes closed listening to the tune as Zelda began to repeat it on her ocarina, the notes coming back to her quickly. Jonathan was left swaying through the air as Zelda stopped playing, feeling disappointed that the music had stopped.

"Epona's Song," Zelda said as she reminisced on the last time she had played the song years ago, "Brings back some fond memories."

"And some not-so-fond ones as well," Malon responded, "Now, just play it and Epona will come to you. That ought to help you out."

"Thank you, Malon," Jonathan thanked as Zelda pulled the hood of the burka back over her head and led Jonathan out of the building. Malon followed and watched the two walk back toward the horse pen.

_He reminds me so much of Link,_ Malon thought dreamily to herself as she quietly followed them back to the pen.

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"You've come to look at my horses again, have you?" Ingo asked as he saw Jonathan and Zelda approaching him again.

"We still want Epona," Jonathan stated.

"I already told you that you can't buy her," Ingo half-screamed exasperated as Zelda walked in Epona's direction a little and pulled out the Ocarina of Time and pulled up her hood just above her mouth and began to play Epona's Song on the ocarina.

"Wait, I know who you are, Princess Zelda!" Ingo yelled at her as Epona began trotting over to the sound of the melody. Jonathan walked over to Zelda, ready to defend her.

"You said you didn't know how to ride a horse. Well, now is a good time to learn," Zelda said as Epona reached them.

Jonathan looked at Zelda hesitatingly, then stroked Epona's red coat. "Hey girl," he whispered as he stroked Epona. Ingo then looked on as Jonathan got on top of Epona and sat himself on the saddle. Surprisingly, riding Epona came easily to Jonathan, almost as if he had ridden a horse before. He started out in a slow trot and soon accelerated into a full gallop, clearing a few of the low fences inside the pen. The thrill of getting airborne pumped the adrenaline through Jonathan's body, and he craved more and more of this particular thrill, when he heard Ingo's screaming interrupt him.

"Hey! I'll make a bet with you!" Ingo yelled, "If you can beat me in a horse race, you can keep that horse. But if you lose, I get to turn Zelda over to King Ganondorf!"

Jonathan stopped immediately, which caused Epona to get up on her back two legs with Jonathan unprepared for that. He was barely able to stay on the saddle and said, "No way!"

"Then you won't get the horse!" Ingo retorted as he ran over to the gate leading out of the horse pen, barring the exit with his entire body, "And Ganondorf will get Zelda anyway!"

As Zelda approached Jonathan, she heard him yell at Ingo, "I'll trample you if you don't get out of the way! I'll have the horse and get away with Zelda!"

Zelda stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing Jonathan say this. _What?_ she thought, _Did he just say what I think he said?_

Jonathan looked over and saw Zelda standing there, looking at him without the veil over her face. "Zelda? Are you okay?" he asked. He was perplexed by the look of shock she had on her face.

Zelda immediately shook herself out of her trance and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Jonathan, just take him up on his challenge. You can beat him."

Jonathan looked at Zelda, trying to figure out if she was insane or not. "Zelda, I only just began riding a horse. What makes you think I can beat Ingo in a horse race?" Jonathan asked.

"Because I have faith in you, Jonathan," she responded with a look in her eyes that told Jonathan that she really meant what she had told him.

Jonathan saw this look and knew that he now needed to do what was asked of him again. _Well, this shouldn't be as dangerous as going through one of those dungeons,_ he thought as he looked at Ingo and proclaimed, "I accept your challenge!"

Ingo was caught off-guard. "What?" he asked, "You accept? Good! Two laps around the horse pen, and you have to go over every fence! First one around twice wins."

"Fine," Jonathan agreed as he had Epona walk over to the gate of the pen and Ingo went and mounted his finest horse and quickly trotted back to where Jonathan and Epona were waiting.

"Ready, set, . . . GO!" Ingo yelled, giving him an advantage off the starting line, but Jonathan was able to hang closely behind him as they rounded around one side of the pen and onto the backstretch of the track. Jonathan didn't know how, but he felt like he knew exactly what to do and when to do it, from knowing when to nudge Epona a little toward the inside of the track to knowing when to give her a bit of incentive to jump over the fences. Coming around the other end of the pen and around to finish the first lap, Zelda and Malon saw that Jonathan was still within striking distance of Ingo.

It was on the second time down the backstretch that Jonathan began catching up to Ingo. Ingo saw this and began to panic, trying to move inside to close off that lane to Jonathan. But in the last turn, Jonathan saw Ingo's horse drifting slightly to the outside. Jonathan saw this and quickly sped up Epona to get in through the inside portion of the track. Once Jonathan had done this, he knew that he would win the race, as long as Ingo didn't play dirty. Jonathan looked over to Ingo as the final straight began and saw Ingo moving to pin Epona into the fence of the pen. Seeing this, Jonathan quickly picked up the pace with Epona and just left Ingo in the dust, beating him to the line as Ingo's horse nearly tumbled over from the quick move to pin Epona and Jonathan to the fence.

"YES!" Jonathan exclaimed as he crossed the line and turned Epona off the track and gradually slowed her down to a stop. Ingo rode up next to him. He looked absolutely furious.

"No fair! You cheated!" he yelled.

"I cheated?" Jonathan asked incredulously, "You tried to push me into the fence! I'd say that's cheating!"

"I demand another race!" he shouted.

"Zelda," Jonathan called toward Zelda, "Come on. We're out of here."

But as Zelda ran to Jonathan and Epona, Ingo hurried over to the entrance of the Lon Lon Ranch and shut the gates, stopping Jonathan from leaving. "You won't be leaving this ranch until King Ganondorf comes to take you away himself!" he shouted.

Jonathan began to look around for another possible way out of the ranch. He was about to give up when he saw to the east a wall that looked just low enough for Epona to jump over if he could get Epona running fast enough. It was risky, but it was better than leaving in Ganondorf's hands.

"Zelda, get on Epona behind me and hang on tight," Jonathan said, "We're going for a ride."

Zelda got on Epona and wrapped her arms around Jonathan's waist. Jonathan then kicked into Epona's sides and she started running toward the wall. Jonathan kept encouraging Epona to go faster and soon Jonathan felt that she was galloping fast enough to clear the wall.

"Hang on!" Jonathan yelled to Zelda as he pulled back on Epona's reins suddenly. Epona then leapt into the air and just barely cleared the wall in front of her and landed on the ground safely.

"NO!" Ingo yelled as he saw the three clear the wall, "That's impossible!"

Malon simply smiled and cried. Her favorite horse was free again and in good hands, but she was still gone.

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"You think we ought to go back right now?" Jonathan asked Zelda as they started to ride slowly back to the Kokiri Forest on Epona.

"Why bother?" Zelda asked rhetorically, "This will sure cut Ingo down to size. But Jonathan, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" he inquired.

"You told Ingo that you would trample him if he didn't get out of the way," Zelda addressed, "Did you really mean that?"

Jonathan paused for a moment before replying, "No, I wouldn't have done that."

"Then why did you say that?"

"It was an idle threat to make Ingo get out of the way. Nothing more and I didn't mean it."

"Jonathan, please don't do something like that again," Zelda pleaded, "It scares me when you say something like that to another person."

"But you've seen me do worse than that before," Jonathan pointed out.

"To Ganondorf's minions, but this is different," Zelda replied, "Ingo is just a bitter man. He's not evil."

"Okay, I won't do something like that again," Jonathan promised. Zelda smiled as they entered the Kokiri Forest again.

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Author's Notes: The ureth is an invention of mine. There will be some more information about them in the next chapter. For now, it is sufficient to point out that while wearing ureths in Hyrule by this time isn't common, wearing one is not suspicious in and of itself.

The title of this chapter is, of course, a reference to the Shakespeare play "Richard III." And now that I look back on it, I suppose this chapter was a bit unnecessary for the plot. Of well, why not have a little fun?

This chapter marks the last of the "old chapters," which are the chapters of this story I wrote before taking a bit of a hiatus from this story. I did this because I wanted to release my version of the seventh Harry Potter story (Harry Potter and the Heir of Gryffindor) before Rowling released the actual seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Unfortunately, my Potter story stalled a bit and I decided to come back and finish this one first instead. I actually got started on the next chapter in summer 2005, but didn't finish it until the next year. Basically, what this all means is that the quality of the writing in this story is about to go up, I hope.

And as for the fate of Heir of Gryffindor, I intend to finish it by summer 2008, but with my hectic college life, that just might not happen. Stay tuned.

Well, that's about all for now. Until next week, read and review please.


	16. Chapter 15: The Return of Link

Author's Notes: Thanks to all of you who have read my story in the past week, especially to those who gave me a review.

Infernal Flame Zero: Thanks for your continued support. And this chapter should be better, in my opinion. But I'll let you be the final judge of that.

navybluedragon: Lets not name names here. Thanks for the support.

Be prepared, this chapter is the longest yet. It is also the first of the newer chapters of the story, so the writing quality should increase from what you have been reading before now. There is a little bit of swearing going on in this chapter, though, so you have been warned.

**Chapter 15: The Return of Link**

Jonathan woke up in his room as the torches inside grew bright. Well rested, he arose almost immediately, and began his morning ritual of bathing, retrieving his dried clothing, and dressing himself. It was second nature by now, as he had been living in the world of Hyrule for a month now. He also liked this world much more than his old one now. Even though he knew there was great evil around, he felt safer in Hyrule now than he ever had felt on Earth. Of course, he knew that as long as the Great Deku Tree remained strong, no strong evil forces could penetrate the Kokiri Forest, the Lost Woods, or the Great Forest Meadow. But even outside the forest, Jonathan felt safe and secure, and that condition would only improve once Ganondorf was gone.

It had been a week since Jonathan and Zelda had pulled off their stunt to take the horse Epona away from Ingo at the Lon Lon Ranch. Shortly after the two returned, Zelda decided that they should not take any more actions for the time being unless absolutely necessary. However, it was clear by now that Ganondorf knew nothing about Jonathan and Zelda's taking Epona from the ranch. In the past week, Impa had been taking Jonathan and Epona to a large, open area in the Lost Woods to train him on how to ride a horse properly and how to engage in combat on horseback without startling the horse into bucking Jonathan off. The basic rule of thumb about horseback combat, Jonathan learned, was to never attack ahead with a sword and only with a bow and arrow with a high arc. It made sense to Jonathan, as anything a horse would see right in front of them while galloping would startle them greatly. Although Impa would never say it to him, Jonathan knew he had learned much and was now a better than average horseback rider. He just seemed to pick up everything he was being taught quickly.

As Jonathan walked out of his courtyard and into the main atrium of the Forest Temple, he saw Impa in the center of the room talking to someone dressed in dark clothing from head to foot. Impa was also holding a small sack which had an unknown item inside it.

"It's a fine disguise," Impa said, "But someone is going to want to search through the sack. And then you're in deep trouble, to say the least."

"There must be some way to hide the sack," the stranger said with a familiar sounding voice, "There just has to be."

"Impa?" Jonathan asked, walking toward the two individuals, "Who is that?"

"Jonathan, it's me," Princess Zelda replied as she took off the purple burka that covered her head. Her hair was tied up on top of her head in a bun to hide it under the burka, "And we're trying to figure out a little problem. We'd appreciate some help."

"Well, what's the problem you have now?" Jonathan asked, "And what's in the sack?"

Impa opened up the sack and showed its contents to Jonathan. Inside, Jonathan saw the three sacred stones he had helped to gather from all across the land of Hyrule. "Why did we even need to collect these stones in the first place?" Jonathan inquired, "I'd like to know what I've been risking my life for over the past month."

"We never told you what these stones are for?" Zelda asked with a look of utter surprise on her face.

"I don't believe so," Jonathan responded, "That or you did and I forgot, which is certainly possible."

"Well, the Spiritual Stones, along with my Ocarina of Time, are the keys to opening the Door of Time in the Temple of Time," Zelda began, "And behind the Door of Time is where the Hero of Time lies dormant, waiting to be called upon in a time of need. The time has now come to awaken him."

_Could you say time any more times?_ Jonathan asked himself as he nodded and said, "Well, lets get going then."

"We have a slight problem," Impa stated, "You see, anyone who goes into Hyrule Castle Town has anything they are carrying with them searched through by Ganondorf's followers. If you two tried to enter Hyrule Castle Town with this sack in plain sight, the Spiritual Stones would be found and you would become Ganondorf's prisoners immediately. So we have to find a way to hide these where they won't think to look for them."

Jonathan thought for a while about the problem. He figured out quite quickly that the only way to hide the sack was under either his clothing or Zelda's clothing. And since his clothing was pretty much skin tight that eliminated possibilities to hiding it under Zelda's clothing. _But where would it look inconspicuous?_ Jonathan thought to himself as he looked at Zelda. He thought momentarily about hiding the sack on her back and disguising her as a hunchback. _No, that won't work,_ Jonathan realized, _If she looked like an old woman, sure that would work._ Happy regardless that Zelda didn't look like an old woman, the perfect idea then hit him. He had to laugh. _Why didn't I think of it sooner?_ he thought.

"Jonathan? What's so funny?" Zelda asked perplexed.

"I thought of the perfect way to hide the stones," Jonathan was able to say after he could stop laughing.

"What is your idea?" Impa asked.

Jonathan patted his stomach three times before he replied, "Think about it for a moment."

Zelda was confused for a moment about what Jonathan had just said and did, as did Impa. Both of them had no clue what Jonathan was implying. He saw that and sighed as he explained, "Well, if we have to hide that sack, we have to hide it underneath our clothes. And since you can't hide anything under my clothes, we'll have to hide it under Princess Zelda's clothing. And there is one place on her body which could have a bulge like that and no one would find it out of place."

Zelda thought for a moment about this, and then looked down at herself and laughed. "Jonathan, that's a great idea!" she exclaimed, "If anything will work, that's it."

Impa was still confused as to Jonathan's idea. "Could you be a little more specific about this?" she asked.

Zelda grabbed the sack from Impa and held it up against her stomach. "You mean like this?" she asked.

Impa looked down at where she was holding the sack and suddenly felt very stupid and slightly embarrassed. "I should have thought of that sooner," she said, "We'll get to work on this right away. Thank you for your idea." She and Zelda then left the atrium and went into Zelda's courtyard. Meanwhile, Jonathan went back to his courtyard and waited for what he figured would be a very eventful day. He was very correct about that.

----------

About three hours later, Jonathan and Zelda were just outside the entrance of the Forest Temple with Impa. Zelda was sitting on Epona in front of Jonathan, with the sack containing the three Spiritual Stones attached carefully to her front by belts. Had he not known better, Jonathan would have thought she actually was pregnant when he first saw her disguise. Her clothing was now sky blue, still covering her from head to foot, though, except for the eyes, ears, and hands. Jonathan was curious as to why Zelda was now wearing a different color than before, but he had to wait for Impa's instructions. She handed Jonathan a small bag which weighed a moderate amount. He looked in the bag and found inside of it various small trinkets. "What are these for?" Jonathan asked.

"It's part of your cover," Impa replied, "When you reach the gate to Hyrule Castle Town, the guards will search you and ask your purpose in coming to the town. Your story is that you live in Kakariko Village and you have come to Hyrule Castle Town to make an offering to the Goddesses for your wife and her unborn child. Those trinkets will pass as offerings. After they let you through the gates, you will proceed to the Temple of Time. From there, Zelda will know what to do with the Spiritual Stones. If anything else comes up, you'll have to deal with it yourselves. Good luck."

"Thank you Impa, we'll be fine," Zelda responded as she picked up Epona's reigns for Jonathan to hold, "We'll be back before sunset."

And with that, Jonathan turned Epona around and began a long trek through the Sacred Forest Meadow, into the Lost Woods, through the passage to Goron City, down Death Mountain, into Kakariko Village, out onto Hyrule Field, and into Hyrule Castle Town. Jonathan knew he couldn't go quickly, as it would not look right if he had a pregnant woman on a horse in a full gallop.

"Zelda," Jonathan began to ask as he had just led Epona out of the maze in the meadow, his hands holding the reigns in front of her, "You were wearing a purple one of those things earlier, but now it's sky blue. Why is that?"

"This is a Hylian garb called an ureth that was often worn long ago by both men and women, usually as protection from the sun," Zelda responded, "Over time, different colors came to mean different things. The black one means the wearer in engaged to be married. The purple one I was wearing this morning means I am searching for a husband. This light blue one means that I am expecting a child."

"Interesting," Jonathan stated, "Are there any other colors?"

"There are," Zelda replied, "Red means you are not looking for a spouse, blue means you are married, and white means you are in mourning. There are others, but those are the basic ones."

Jonathan nodded as he continued through the Lost Woods.

----------

It was slightly past midday when Jonathan and Zelda finally reached Hyrule Field. Jonathan had found out the hard way that navigating a long stairway on horseback with a pregnant woman in front of him was no easy task. At one point, he suggested to Zelda that they both dismount from Epona and walk down the staircase that led from Kakariko Village onto Hyrule Field. But Zelda replied that she did not want to shift around the sack she was hiding too much. So they stayed on Epona and navigated the staircase with the greatest of care.

"Finally, we made it off that death trap," Jonathan remarked as he stopped Epona at the bottom of the staircase.

"We're definitely not doing that again," Zelda agreed, "We walk with Epona up this thing on our return."

"Thanks for that," Jonathan said, "Okay, lets be on our way now."

"Remember, you have to do the talking to the guards," Zelda reminded, "If I speak, they may recognize my voice."

"Right," Jonathan replied as he set Epona off slowly over a small bridge and approached the entrance of Hyrule Castle Town. The way into the town was by a drawbridge in the center of a grayish-white stone wall that stood more than twenty feet tall. As far as Jonathan could tell, the wall was very well made and extremely smooth, so that no one could try to climb over it with their bare hands. On top of the wall, Jonathan saw a dark-skinned creature that resembled an imp of some sort who was patrolling on the wall. Or at least it was until it caught sight of Jonathan and Zelda. However, Jonathan ignored the evil eyes upon both himself and Zelda and approached the drawbridge.

"Halt, strangers," an imp standing near the drawbridge said with authority as he pointed the sharp end of his spear at Jonathan, "What is your business here?"

"My wife and I have come to make an offering to the Goddesses in the Temple of Time," Jonathan replied as a second imp took possession of the bag he was holding and looked inside it. Then it began to dig through the objects inside the bag with his unnaturally long fingers. His red eyes looked intently for anything out of place.

"Well?" the first imp asked after several moments.

"Nothing but useless trinkets," the second imp said as he handed the bag back to Jonathan, "If I were being offered these, I'd make both the mother and child die while she was giving birth."

Upon hearing that, Jonathan felt a strong urge to pull out his sword and slay this imp for saying that. But Jonathan was about to think twice about that. They needed to get inside the town. Moreover, he was not armed at all at the moment; Impa told him to leave his sword and shield behind for this one, as it would raise too much suspicion for him to try to enter Hyrule Castle Town armed.

"You," the first imp ordered and pointed to Jonathan, "You need to be searched. Get off the horse."

Jonathan complied without a fight and dismounted from Epona. The imp who had pointed its spear at him then began to pat him down from head to foot. Jonathan had to work hard to avoid cringing from how cold the imp's hands felt on certain parts of his body.

"Boss, should we search her too?" the second imp asked the one who was searching Jonathan.

The first imp took a look at Zelda and replied, "No, she looks a little delicate. We don't want King Ganondorf to get complaints from one in her condition. It'll mean our heads."

The imp finished searching Jonathan's body and said, "Alright, you can enter Hyrule Castle Town. Just don't cause any trouble."

"Thank you," Jonathan replied to the imp as he mounted on Epona again and grabbed the reigns. The imp gave a signal to an imp on top of the fortifications who threw a lever, lowering the wooden drawbridge so that Jonathan and Zelda could enter the town.

"Well, we made it," Jonathan whispered to Zelda once he was sure they were out of the earshot of the guards.

Zelda nodded, but as the drawbridge was closed behind them, a bad feeling welled up inside her, as if someone or something was going wrong with the plan already. And indeed, one of the imps had recognized Jonathan from his watch a week earlier. That imp was already on his way to Hyrule Castle.

----------

In the market of Hyrule Castle Town, an old man wearing a blue ureth was fiercely bargaining with a shopkeeper over the price the shopkeeper was willing to pay for the old man's goods. The arguing had gotten quite hectic when the old man heard the usual clamor of the market die down slightly. Curious, he turned and saw a young man with a pregnant young woman on a horse trekking slowly toward the Temple of Time. However, this old man recognized both the young man and the horse, and from that was quite sure who the young woman was and knew that her pregnancy was a farce. He also knew what was really hiding under her sky blue ureth.

The man then caught sight of a small shape running along the top of the far stone wall which encircled Hyrule Castle Town and immediately realized that he wasn't the only one who had discovered the trick.

"Fine, I accept your offer of 500 rupees," the old man told the shopkeeper as he handed over the small crate that contained his wares. In actuality, he didn't really care about the price they fetched. After he accepted 500 rupees from the shopkeeper, he disappeared into the nearest deserted back alley.

----------

Jonathan and Zelda walked through the large entrance into the Temple of Time. Once inside, Jonathan was struck with awe. The structure looked big from the outside, but seemed even larger from the inside. The ceiling of the temple was at least 100 feet above the ground, and the windows along the long sides of the building lighted the temple brilliantly. The temple was built from the same grayish-white stones which the wall around Hyrule Castle Town was built from, but this temple looked much older than the walls.

On the inside, the Temple of Time seemed to be composed of just one enormous room which seemed to reach toward the heavens above. Upon entering, Jonathan saw at the other end of the room, above a part of the wall which appeared to be a carving of a rising sun, the Triforce symbol, emblazoned in gold. And on the floor in the middle of the room was a platform with the Triforce symbol on it, almost exactly like the one in front of the Temple of Time except this one was grayish-white in color. He also saw on the other side of the room what appeared to be a platform of some sort.

"Wow, this temple is incredible," Jonathan remarked, his words echoing off the walls.

"Lets just do this as quickly as we possibly can, Jonathan," Zelda said as she took off her ureth, revealing her normal regal dress underneath and the three belts which held the sack with the Spiritual Stones in place on her belly. She quickly undid these belts and carried the sack to the platform at the other end of the room.

Jonathan caught up with her at this platform, which had three recesses on its top and an inscription in Hylian in the center. Although Jonathan's Stone of Voices could translate spoken Hylian into the English that he understood, it could not help him decipher the written Hylian language. _I'm going to have to learn Hylian sometime in the future,_ Jonathan thought to himself as Zelda began to pull the Spiritual Stones from the sack which she and Impa had obviously filled with sawdust along with the stones.

"Why the rush?" Jonathan asked.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," Zelda replied as she put the Kokiri's Emerald in the first recess on the platform. Miraculously, it hovered in place above the platform.

----------

"What was that you said?" Ganondorf asked as he stood up from his throne inside Hyrule Castle.

"Seven days ago, I spotted a suspicious individual walking toward Lon Lon Ranch with a young Hylian woman wearing a black ureth," the imp who had recognized Jonathan reported, "And just a little while ago, that same young man entered Hyrule Castle Town with a young pregnant Hylian woman wearing a sky blue ureth. He said that he and his wife had come to give an offering to the Goddesses at the Temple of Time. I came to tell you as quickly as I could."

"Are you sure it is the same individual?" Ganondorf asked. The last thing he needed to do was unnecessarily harass a couple who were expecting a child soon.

"Absolutely sure, my lord," the imp responded, "Should I order a group to soldiers to investigate this matter?"

Ganondorf thought for a moment. _If this imp is mistaken and I send soldiers, I will not be looked at favorably in the land, but I myself can work around any embarrassment that may happen,_ he thought, _But, if this individual is up to something, they may be prepared to defend themselves well. But I can stop them._

"No, I will go myself to investigate this claim," Ganondorf said as he began walking out of the throne room, "You get back to the town entrance and make sure that no one enters or leaves this town until I say otherwise."

"Yes, my lord," the imp said as it scampered off to give the orders he had received while his king went to deal with whatever was going on in the Temple of Time.

However, someone else had overheard this conversation. And this individual had an agenda to attend to now. They had to make sure that the drawbridge was down.

----------

Jonathan placed the Zora's Sapphire in the recess the furthest to his right while Zelda put the Goron's Ruby in the center one. Both stones hovered in place like the first one was.

"Zelda, there's an inscription here, but I can't understand it. What does it say?" Jonathan asked Zelda.

Zelda looked quickly at the inscription. "It says, 'Ye who owns three Spiritual Stones, stand with the Ocarina of Time and play the Song of Time.' That's what it says," Zelda replied as she stepped back from the platform and reached into the folds in her robes and pulled out her Ocarina.

"Do you know the Song of Time?" Jonathan inquired.

"I do," Zelda replied as she put the ocarina to her lips and began to play a melody that sounded rather old and solemn to Jonathan. Once Zelda had finished, Jonathan looked around for something to happen.

Then, Jonathan felt the floor begin to shake. He looked up at the wall behind the platform with the Spiritual Stones and saw the wall with the carving of a rising sun was splitting in half vertically and was opening slowly. After the door had opened and the rumblings had stopped, Jonathan slowly walked to the new opening. "Should I go in there?" he asked Zelda.

"Yes, and I'm coming too," Zelda replied as she quickly retrieved her ureth and ran up the stairs to Jonathan, "We should be able to take the Spiritual Stones back with us, so we need to make these trinkets disappear. We'll empty the sack inside that chamber once we find the Hero of Time."

"Sounds good to me," Jonathan replied as he and Zelda looked around the inner chamber. In contrast to the main room of the temple, this chamber was very poorly illuminated. In fact, the only light in this room came from a single ray of light from the roof. But there was something about the light that seemed unnatural. Jonathan looked up and, indeed, he could see no hole in the ceiling of any kind. It was as if the light came out of the roof itself. Looking down at the chamber, the light was illuminating what seemed to be a sword which was embedded inside a small pedestal on the highest tier of a platform in the middle of the chamber. A small series of stairs led up to the weapon. "Hey, there's a sword in here," he pointed out to Zelda. _I didn't realize my name was Arthur,_ Jonathan joked to himself.

"Don't bother with it," Zelda called back, "That's the Master Sword and only Link can pull it out of its pedestal. Besides we don't want to pull it out anyway."

"Why not?" Jonathan asked as he slowly searched the chamber, the dim lighting slowing his progress considerably.

"It is the seal between our realm and the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce rests," Zelda explained, "If you were to pull that sword from its pedestal, Ganondorf could travel to the Sacred Realm and take the Triforce, and ask for anything he wants. And we can't have that."

"But he's not here now, and we are," Jonathan responded, not realizing he had no idea what he was looking for, "We can go to the Sacred Realm and take the Triforce for ourselves and wish for Ganondorf to be gone." The lure of absolute power was beginning to capture him, as it had done to many in the early history of Hyrule.

"Jonathan, that is what I thought when I was young," Zelda said, also not realizing that Jonathan had no idea what he was looking for, "I thought Link and I could get the Triforce and hide it from Ganondorf. We would have been better off just leaving everything alone. We opened up the Sacred Realm and that was what Ganondorf was waiting for. We aren't going to do that again unless we absolutely have to."

"Well, all right, you know best, I guess," Jonathan conceded, letting rationality take over again, "Wait a minute. What is it we are looking for in here?"

"There should be an inscription in here somewhere," Zelda answered as she searched the chamber as well, "It'll tell us what to do to summon the spirit of Link back to this world. At least that's what Marlu told me."

Jonathan moved around to the back of the chamber and when he looked down, he noticed something strange about the floor. He could not see what it was, so he bent down and felt the floor. He could feel that there were indentations of some kind. "Zelda, I need some light over here," Jonathan said to Zelda.

Zelda walked over to where Jonathan was and quietly said something Jonathan couldn't make out. Suddenly, a small, bright light appeared from her hands and illuminated the indentations. "It's Hylian writing," Zelda said as she walked back to the left side of the chamber and began to read the inscription, "The Hero of Time waits inside the Master Sword. To summon him, grab the hilt of the Blade of Evil's Bane and the Hero of Time shall judge you to be worthy or not."

"So, all I have to do is grab the Master Sword?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, it would seem . . . ," Zelda began, then looked quickly toward the chamber entrance, "Someone is here."

"Hello, is someone here?" asked a deep voice that Zelda immediately recognized as Ganondorf's. Her look to Jonathan told him that.

"Zelda, you have that bag," Jonathan whispered, "Disguise yourself again while I buy some time with Ganondorf."

Zelda nodded as she worked on her disguise again. Jonathan walked to the chamber entrance and upon seeing Ganondorf, Jonathan said, "Oh, Your Majesty!"

Ganondorf looked at Jonathan and asked, "Who are you and what has happened to this temple?"

"My name is Jonathan," Jonathan replied as he walked down the stairs, "And my wife and I came here to give an offering to the Goddesses, and we found the temple like this. I was in that chamber looking around. My wife is in there as well, but she is rather fragile at this time."

"Was there a sword in there?" Ganondorf inquired quickly.

"Yes, it was embedded in a pedestal," Jonathan responded, "But Your Majesty, what has brought you here?"

"Well, I received a report a short time ago from one of my watch-guards that you, young man, were seen a week ago going to Lon Lon Ranch with a woman wearing a black ureth. I think your wife might want an explanation of this."

Jonathan thought for a moment, then formulated a response. "Oh, yes, that was my sister I was traveling with," Jonathan answered, "I wanted to get her a horse as a wedding gift, so I took her to Lon Lon Ranch to pick one out. However, the man in charge of the ranch threatened us when we told him we wanted a certain horse."

"I'll look into that," Ganondorf said, not really meaning it as this was not the first time he had heard a complaint about the man in question, "And I apologize for this misunderstanding."

"Thank you Your Highness," Jonathan replied.

"Well, I must be leaving now," Ganondorf stated as he bowed to Jonathan. Jonathan bowed back, feigning respect. He thought that he and Zelda were home free now.

He couldn't have been more wrong. Ganondorf knew from that start who was here with him.

"Oh, by the way," Ganondorf called back as he turned around upon reaching the entrance of the temple, "Is that horse outside here the one you bought seven days ago?"

"Yes, it is," Jonathan replied, "My sister said that my wife and I could use it to come here to make our offering."

"Well, it turns out I am actually very familiar with that particular horse," Ganondorf explained as he began walking back toward Jonathan slowly, his right hand on the hilt of his sword, "And I'm afraid you both have to surrender yourselves to me. That or die here."

"What?" Jonathan said incredulously, "What are you talking about?"

"Good-bye, traitors!" Ganondorf yelled as he drew out his black sword and pointed it at Jonathan. Suddenly, a black sphere shot out from the tip of his sword and headed straight for Jonathan.

"Shit!" Jonathan yelled as he jumped behind the platform on which the three Spiritual Stones were hovering. The sphere hit the platform with a loud thud.

"Surrender yourselves, and I shall show you mercy," Ganondorf called as he slowly approached the platform, his sword still pointed straight forward.

Jonathan crawled back into the chamber quickly. "Forget the disguise Zelda, we're in deep trouble now," he whispered.

"We have no weapons, we can't fight against Ganondorf," Zelda pointed out.

----------

At the drawbridge, an imp on top of the fortifications stood guard next to the lever to open the drawbridge into Hyrule Castle Town. As was its routine, the imp stood facing the town to make sure nothing suspicious escaped King Ganondorf's sight. However, for itself, the imp was looking the wrong way and never saw its doom coming.

Suddenly, the imp felt a hand cover its mouth while another one covered its eyes. Almost immediately, the guard knew what was coming next, and there was nothing it could do about it. A quiet snap was all that signaled that something was amiss. And none of the imps guarding the drawbridge on the outside ever heard it. The guards had no idea that something was very wrong.

----------

"What do we do now?" Jonathan asked quietly.

"Our only option seems to be to try to summon Link's spirit from the Master Sword," Zelda replied, "Go to the Master Sword and grab it."

Jonathan crawled to the pedestal and then stood up. He first looked toward the main room and saw Ganondorf, still approaching them.

"I said surrender!" the Gerudo king shouted.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Jonathan said quietly as he grabbed the Master Sword with his right hand. Suddenly, he felt a new presence enter his mind.

"Who are you?" a masculine voice with a higher pitched voice than Jonathan's asked, "And why have you summoned me?"

"My name is Jonathan," Jonathan thought in an answer, "And Princess Zelda and I need your help."

"Princess Zelda?" the voice responded, "Is Ganon after her?"

"Yes, and we need your help to defeat him," Jonathan responded, "Will you help us?"

For a few moments, there was no response. Then, the voice said, "I have judged you to be worthy. Let me use your body to help you."

Suddenly, Jonathan felt a surge of electricity flow through his body. He looked down and saw small bolts of lightning covering his feet and quickly moving up his body. As this happened, Jonathan shouted in pain as the lightning reached his face. Then, the shout changed its pitch and became slightly higher. His eyes changed color from brown to blue and finally his hair changed from black to blonde. The Hero of Time, Link, had returned to the world of Hyrule.

Ganondorf saw all this and then fired another black sphere at the figure which stood in the ray of light. Link saw the blast coming and pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal and let the blast strike the sword, destroying the evil energy on contact. Then Link flipped the Master Sword in the air and caught it with his left hand.

"You FOOL!" Ganondorf yelled, "You have opened the Sacred Realm for me. Now the Triforce shall be mine!"

As if on a cue, the ray of light in the small chamber quickly expanded to bathe the entire chamber in what seemed to be a divine light. Zelda, huddling in a corner of the chamber, knew this to mean that the barrier between her realm and the Sacred Realm could be breached, and the Temple of Time was the place where one could travel between these realms.

Link walked out of the chamber, always keeping his blue eyes on Ganondorf, watching for what the next attack would be. He walked down the stairs to the right of the platform, the Master Sword in his left hand. The sword, three-and-a-half feet long, now rested against his left leg and the tip touched the floor.

"So, Link, we meet again," Ganondorf said, his own sword in a similar position against his right leg, "And this time, the Triforce is mine."

"You will die here, Ganondorf," Link replied as he brought the Master Sword up and into a defensive position in front of his chest, "Make your move."

"Let the dance of death begin!" Ganondorf shouted as he moved toward Link and swung his sword at Link's legs, attempting to cut them out from underneath him. However, Link was able to block this easily, and then Link suddenly exploded into offense, rushing and stabbing at Ganondorf with amazingly high speed. Ganondorf was able to avoid this, but had been caught completely off guard by Link's sudden change from defense to offense. _Damn, I'm in trouble!_ Ganondorf thought as he struggled to stop Link's continuous attacking without a shield.

----------

Even though it was a little past midday over Hyrule Castle Town, anyone who was looking at the Temple of Time at a certain time could see a bright light flash from the temple, and then dim. Many wondered what the light meant. Some decided it was a sign of a miracle. Others said it was a sign of coming doom and evil.

The man on the top of the town's fortress wall saw the flash of light as well. And under his blue ureth, he smiled. He knew exactly what the flash of light meant. He was so close to his goal. He just needed one certain individual to die and nothing would stand in his way.

----------

Ganondorf knew he was in deep trouble as Link kept coming at him again and again, showing no sign of fear or fatigue. Both Ganondorf and Link knew how a fight like this would end. Unless Ganondorf could find a way to turn the momentum around, sooner or later his age would betray him, and he would receive a blow from the Master Sword. And when that happened, he was as good as dead. He had to get out of the Temple of Time. And suddenly, he saw his chance.

Link screamed as he jumped into the air and toward Ganondorf, planning to bring his blade down on Ganondorf from above. But before he could make the strike, Ganondorf rolled out of the way toward the entrance of the Temple of Time and then made a run for the entrance.

"Come Ganondorf! Are you a coward?" Link called, trying to bait Ganondorf back to battle, knowing he had the upper hand.

But Ganondorf would have none of it. "I may be a coward, but I am no fool," Ganondorf replied, "You are trapped in this town. The exit is shut and won't open for you. And soon, you will have to fight off the whole of my army. You are all doomed." He laughed maniacally as he ran out of the temple.

"Link, what are we going to do now?" Zelda asked as she came out of her hiding spot in the inner chamber. She was now wearing the ureth, but had left behind the sack of trinkets.

"We have to try to escape," Link responded simply, "Do you have Epona?"

"We brought her with us, but you know there's no way she can jump over a wall as high as the ones that surround this town," Zelda pointed out, "Maybe my father will send someone to help us, but they'll never get here in time."

"There has to be a way out of this, and we're going to find it," Link proclaimed, "Lets go." And with that Link and Zelda ran for the entrance of the Temple of Time.

Outside the Temple of Time, Link quickly found his old steed Epona. After patting her mane a few times, he turned to Zelda and ordered, "Get on, Princess Zelda. I will ride behind you to protect you."

"Link, are you planning to fight?" Zelda asked as she got up on Epona's back.

"Zelda, I need to keep the Blade of Evil's Bane to have any chance," Link told Zelda as he jumped up on Epona behind Zelda and grabbed the reigns as he got Epona riding quickly through Hyrule Castle Town toward the drawbridge. As he waded through a crowd of panicked people in the market, Link tried to look toward the entrance to the town, but he was unable to see it. He finally got through the crowd and then rode Epona at full speed through the streets toward the drawbridge. Link wasn't too hopeful about what he would find when he reached the entrance, so he wasn't at all disappointed when he found the gate closed before them. But something else caught Link's eye as he slowed Epona to a stop before the closed drawbridge.

Standing on top of the fortress wall next to the lever that controlled the drawbridge was a man wearing a blue ureth. His ears were very long and were parallel to the ground. Link and Zelda could barely see the stranger's eyes, but they both knew this man had a purpose of some kind to be standing where he was, with the body of a dead imp next to his feet.

As Link slowed Epona as they approached the drawbridge, the man turned around and looked down. What happened next startled both Link and Zelda. The man stretched his hands to the ground and launched a blast from both his hands, killing the two imps keeping guard outside the wall instantly. As the blasts of magic were launched, the cover over the man's head flew up and over his head by the rushing of air out of the orbs of death, revealing a mane of white hair which continued into the back of the ureth.

"No, it can't be," Zelda said as the man turned to face Link, Zelda, and Epona again. Indeed, it was who Zelda thought it was.

"Orizon!" Link exclaimed as he brought up his sword, knowing who it was through Jonathan's memories, "Why are you here?"

"Link and Princess Zelda, I must thank you so much," Orizon began, "You have just helped me more than you could possibly imagine. For that, I will help you escape from Ganondorf's death trap." And with that, Orizon grabbed the lever next to him and changed its position. This caused the drawbridge to lower, giving the two on horseback their miracle escape.

"This doesn't make sense," Jonathan, who now shared his mind with Link's spirit, told Link, "This guy tried to kill me and resurrected Ganondorf, who killed Zelda's mother. Why is he helping us now?"

"We just did his bidding for him," Link replied, "Orizon wants the Triforce. We just opened the way to the Sacred Realm. Resurrecting Ganondorf made my interference necessary in this conflict. He knew I would need to break the barrier between the realms to destroy Ganondorf. The Triforce was what he was always after."

"But for what?" Jonathan asked.

"We'll have to worry about that later," Link replied to Jonathan. Then he yelled to Orizon, "Have fun with the Triforce, if you get to it first." And with that Epona was off and raced across Hyrule Field toward Kokiri Forest as fast as she could manage, leaving Ganondorf's forces far behind.

When Orizon heard what Link said, his eyes went wide in shock. _He didn't destroy Ganondorf,_ Orizon realized immediately, _And that means he'll be after the Triforce. I have to beat him to it._ He pulled the head piece of his ureth over his head again, then jumped off the wall and raced toward the Temple of Time, his advanced age not slowing him down at all. Fighting through crowds of people in the market, he entered the temple, only to see Ganondorf rising into the divine light inside the chamber where the Master Sword had only a short time before blocked the way to the Sacred Realm. "NO! YOU FOOL!" was all Orizon could shout as Ganondorf disappeared. His plan, his perfectly designed plan, had failed. Orizon sought the Triforce, but knew that he would get none of it, for though his power, wisdom, and courage were in perfect balance, he knew he was not the greatest in any of these attributes.

----------

As night approached, Zelda looked at the back of her left hand, transfixed by the golden triangle that shined there. She could easily make out the faint outline of the whole Triforce symbol on the back of her left hand. The triangle that made the lower part of the left side of it was glowing, signifying that the Triforce of Wisdom was once again in her possession. But this was not a good thing to Zelda, for it meant that Ganondorf had gotten the Triforce and was now in possession of the Triforce of Power. There was no telling what he would do now that he had such a great instrument of power at his use. _Not many years ago, he was able to subjugate the whole of Hyrule in a matter of years,_ she thought, _What's to stop him from doing that again?_

Zelda looked at the door that led from the courtyard of her room to the main atrium of the Forest Temple when she heard it open. There she saw Jonathan for the first time since he had been screaming in pain as he transformed into Link. He appeared no different now than he did earlier in the day, except that the Master Sword's handle could be seen over his left shoulder, just as Link had done in the past. He appeared to be no different from before, except that he was obviously weighed down by something. _Perhaps that's why he's here,_ Zelda thought as Jonathan sat down next to her on the grass next to the shallow stream that ran through the room.

"A lot has happened today," Jonathan finally said, breaking a silence that seemed to last much longer than it actually did, "And I guess things could have turned out much worse for us."

"I truly thought we were going to die in Hyrule Castle Town," Zelda replied.

"Still, if Orizon is working with Ganondorf, why would he let us escape?" Jonathan asked to himself more than to Zelda, "My only answer is that he isn't truly on Ganondorf's side. He's manipulating both sides to get what he wants. He probably has part of the Triforce now."

"No, unless he has already killed Ganondorf, and I think at this point that is very unlikely," Zelda responded, "Ganondorf got to the Triforce first. I'm sure of that."

"How are you so sure?" Jonathan asked as he looked at the back of his left hand. There he was the exact same pattern that was on the back of Zelda's left hand, except that the triangle that glowed with a golden color was the one that made the lower right corner of the Triforce.

"If Orizon had touched the Triforce," Zelda began to explain, "It wouldn't have split into its separate pieces. His mind is too balanced for that to happen. Ganondorf does not share that balance, however. He is too focused on power to keep the Triforce together. So the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage went to those fit to carry them."

"So, what sort of threat is Ganondorf now?" Jonathan asked.

"A very dire threat," Zelda replied, "He is now the most powerful being in all Hyrule. And now there are only two weapons I can think of that can harm him. One is the Master Sword which you carry now."

"And what is the other?" Jonathan asked.

"The other weapon is the completed Light Power," Zelda replied, "But that is split into two halves and is hidden deep inside two separate temples in Hyrule. Link will need both weapons to conquer Ganondorf now."

"Well, we'll just need to find those two halves of the Light Power, I guess," Jonathan stated.

Zelda sighed. _You don't realize how hard that will be, Jonathan,_ she thought to herself, though his optimism about a simple plan was something that comforted her now.

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Author's Notes: This is a pretty important chapter in more ways than one.

New chapter next week. In the meantime, read and review everyone.


	17. Chapter 16: Journey to the Valley

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all who read and especially those who reviewed my story last week.

bluenavydragon: Not that I want to be mean or anything, but why can't you give me your full opinion here? I will e-mail you, though, as I would like more feedback than a simple good work. Thanks for your support.

SPark681: I'm glad you continue to enjoy this story and I'm happy you continue to show your support. Thanks.

Infernal Flame Zero: No, not exactly double power. See, in the original plot, Link was imprisoned inside a pendant of sorts, which held Link's consciousness and Jonathan could call on Link's spirit to help him through tough spots, like what you see in the Yu-Gi-Oh anime series. Instead, the Master Sword acts as the holder for Link's consciousness, but it doesn't give Jonathan double strength or anything like that. But there is a beneficial effect that can come from the switching between minds. You'll see an example of this in a few chapters. Thanks for your continued support.

And to all the readers out there, thank you for pushing this story to 1,500 hits and counting.

My apologies to the Zelda purists out there, but this is where I'm going to start introducing elements into the Zelda universe that have no real basis in the games. So, with that aside, lets continue our tale.

**Chapter 16: Journey to the Valley**

It had been three months since Jonathan and Zelda had recovered the Master Sword from the Temple of Time, and then made what would have been a miraculous escape from Hyrule Castle Town had it not been for the intervention of a disguised Orizon. It was neither King Alazon nor Princess Zelda's intention for the Master Sword to be freed from its pedestal in the Temple of Time. The original plan was to recover the spirit of the Hero of Time without Ganondorf's knowledge and then close up the inner chamber of the temple. Without the Triforce, Zelda saw that Link would be able to kill Ganondorf with relative ease, as Jonathan's youth and strength, combined with Link's knowledge of combat, would win out over Ganondorf. But Ganondorf's gaining the Triforce of Power complicated matters a great deal, for those who carry the Triforce within them cannot be killed.

And that is where both sides stood now. It was an utter stalemate, and it seemed like neither side would be able to gain an advantage. Of course, with two parts of the Triforce, King Alazon held an advantage, but it was a meaningless one. One who holds any two parts of the Triforce would easily overwhelm and conquer the bearer of the last part, but the only way one can gain a Triforce from another is by force. And that was something neither Zelda nor Jonathan was willing to do unless absolutely necessary. And no one in the Forest Temple saw the necessity in such an action at this point.

In the past three months, Link had told Jonathan much about the past history of Hyrule, which Jonathan found to be quite interesting. He also was able to improve upon his fighting techniques under Link's instruction. And now Jonathan was working on making his left arm as proficient at combat as his right arm was, for Link had told him that he would need a stronger left arm for Link to be of any help to him. At this point, Jonathan's left arm was just as strong as his right, which was enough for Link. He would be able to use the left arm as good as Jonathan used his right now.

Jonathan was resting on the soft grass in his courtyard after performing his morning exercises. It was not as hot and humid inside the Forest Temple as it had been when Jonathan first came to Hyrule. The oppressive Hylian summer was now giving way to the mild autumn. The temperature was falling all over Hyrule, which made Jonathan believe that the world he was in contained much more than this land called Hyrule. Jonathan saw that Hyrule seemed to be bounded on all sides by a high wall of stone. He started to wonder about what could be beyond that wall. _Another land waiting to be settled, perhaps,_ he pondered, _Or maybe that land already has people we could meet and learn new things from._ The possibilities were indeed many.

The sound of the door in the courtyard opening and closing quickly brought Jonathan out of his daydream. He looked toward the door and saw Zelda walking toward him. He smiled when he saw her, and she smiled back at him. In the past three months, Zelda and Jonathan had grown to be extremely close. Either one was now willing to give their own life to save the other, even though both of them could not be killed now because of the Triforce each one bore within them. There was a trust between them that no outside force could break.

"Hey you, lazy boy, get up," Zelda teased.

"Lazy?" Jonathan asked, "Have you forgotten who's been doing all the work in this venture so far? Who's been staring death right in the eye? Sheesh, you Hylians are so ungrateful."

"Well, let me just tell you that we're going to be having a meeting in the bottom floor of the temple very shortly," Zelda replied to this, "And my father wants you to be there, so lets go."

"Alright," Jonathan replied as he raised his legs over his chest, and then jumped from the ground and onto his feet, "You lead the way."

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"Three months ago," King Alazon began, "Because of absolute necessity, Jonathan allowed Link, the Hero of Time, to take over his body and pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. After this, Link was unable to kill Ganondorf, and the Gerudo king got his hands on the Triforce of Power. The Triforce of Wisdom is now carried by my daughter, Princess Zelda, and Jonathan bears the Triforce of Courage. As it is now, no one can kill Ganondorf and his power continues to grow. In order to stop him, we must recover the completed Light Power. With this weapon and the Master Sword, Link can defeat Ganondorf and take the Triforce of Power from him.

"We already have the Master Sword in our possession, so now we must recover the Light Power. A few years ago, this power was split in half and hidden deep inside two different temples in Hyrule."

General Attula stood up from his chair on Alazon's right and pointed to the map of Hyrule draped across the floor in the center of the raised platform. "One half of the Light Power is in the Shadow Temple in Kakariko Village," Attula said as he moved around from the eastern side of the map to the western side, "And the other is in Spirit Temple in the Desert Colossus, which lies beyond the Haunted Wasteland."

"The question now is which half we should try to obtain first," Impa stated from her chair to the right of Zelda, who sat directly across the platform from her father, "To get to the Shadow Temple requires one to travel to Kakariko Village, which for us is a rather simple matter. The passage to the Spirit Temple is much more difficult. There is no secret passageway from the Lost Woods to the eastern part of Hyrule, so the only way to the Colossus is to go across Hyrule Field, enter Gerudo Valley, somehow gain the trust of the Gerudo at their fortress in order to open the path to the Haunted Wasteland, and then cross the wastes to reach the Desert Colossus."

"Gain the trust of the Gerudo?" Jonathan asked, shaking his head in his seat to Zelda's left, "That's going to be impossible for us."

"Not necessarily," Attula responded, "Although the Gerudo women recognize Ganondorf as their king, not all the Gerudo were happy to see his return, especially his own wife, ironically."

"Wait. His own wife didn't want to see him come back?" Jonathan asked.

"Ganondorf's wife, named Nabooru, is a very ambitious Gerudo thief. She doesn't want to share power with anyone," Attula informed, "And considering that Ganondorf's forces actually brainwashed her for seven years, she really doesn't like him all that much."

"Then why are they married?" Jonathan asked, wondering what set of circumstances would prompt this kind of marriage.

"Well, Nabooru is the second-in-command of the Gerudo," Attula answered, "Plus, while she was brainwashed, she bore Ganondorf's only child. Let me just say that as long as Ganondorf stays away from the Gerudo Fortress, Nabooru is happy. And that's the way it is right now, with Ganondorf staying in Hyrule Castle for the most part."

"I think the real question is will Nabooru allow us passage into the Haunted Wasteland," Zelda pointed out, "If that happens, the Spirit Temple is the easier temple to get through of the two."

"I do not think she can give any of our forces passage, because Ganondorf will learn of it," Attula answered, "And when that happens, he will kill Nabooru, and we're not in the business of getting people killed on purpose unless they want to kill us."

"That means we'll have to do something to excuse Nabooru from Ganondorf's wrath," Marlu said as he sat between Alazon and Impa, "What that thing could be, I have no ideas at this point."

"Then perhaps we should go after the half of the Light Power in the Shadow Temple first," Jonathan suggested.

"As soon as we get either part of the Light Power, Ganondorf will know about it immediately," Impa responded, "If we got the half in the Shadow Temple first, Ganondorf would make damn sure that the passage to the Haunted Wasteland is not going to open. And then we have a big problem. We have to get the Light Power in the Spirit Temple first. There is no way that Ganondorf can completely close off Kakariko Village and the Shadow Temple to us."

Jonathan thought about all that had just been said. He sighed and said, "I really don't see any way to get past the Gerudo. Unless something comes up that completely changes things, we're stuck."

"I have a feeling that Orizon will make something happen in our favor," Impa responded, "He is obviously not allied with Ganondorf any longer. I don't think Ganondorf has figured this out yet, but Orizon is pretty clearly going after the Triforce."

"What Orizon wishes to do with the Triforce is something we shouldn't bother worrying about now," King Alazon proclaimed, "It is clear that at least one of us must gain access to the Haunted Wasteland and the Desert Colossus that lies beyond. But I certainly cannot go myself."

"Marlu is too old and frail to make such a trek, no offense meant," Attula stated, "And while I could gain passage to the Haunted Wasteland, I have never been there before. I would be completely lost without a guide of some sort, and I don't think the Gerudo would give me one without . . . a certain concession which I have no desire to give."

"There is no way I can go," Impa stated solemnly, "I know the way through the desert, but without a special circumstance occurring, there is no way a Shiekah can get through Gerudo territory without getting their head chopped off."

"I know the way to the Colossus as well," Zelda spoke, "But my presence in Gerudo territory would not go unnoticed."

Jonathan looked around the room, realizing that he was the last one. "I guess that leaves me to do this one alone," he said, "But I don't know anything about these places. How am I supposed to do this on my own?"

"First of all Jonathan, you won't be on your own," Zelda corrected, "Remember, Orizon will be intervening sooner or later once he figures out what is going on. And second, Ganondorf knows almost nothing about you. For all he knows, he could succeed in talking you onto his side."

Jonathan thought for a moment about that statement. "Maybe I should join Ganondorf's forces to get access to the Haunted Wasteland," he mused.

"No, lets not go that far yet," Impa responded, "Ganondorf would find that a bit too obvious."

"Jonathan," Attula said suddenly, "King Alazon has asked me to escort you into Gerudo Valley tonight, so that no one will see us leave the forest. The bridge that connects one side of the valley to the other is currently being repaired by a group of carpenters that are old friends of mine, so we can stay with them for the night. Come morning, we'll see if the Gerudo will give us a warm reception. If not, we'll have to wait for some form of intervention."

"Well," Jonathan responded after thinking for several seconds, "It's not the best plan I've ever heard of, but with so much uncertainty in this one, I guess we can't look too far ahead of ourselves. I'll go with you, Attula."

"Excellent," King Alazon proclaimed as he stood up from his throne and the other five people followed his lead, "Jonathan, General, get yourselves ready for tonight. You leave just after sunset on horseback. If there is nothing else, this meeting is over."

The other five individuals walked down the spiral staircase on the outside of the chamber and one-by-one took the elevator back up into the main atrium of the Forest Temple, except that when the other three had gone, Jonathan and Zelda took the lift back up together.

Attula saw Zelda and Jonathan come up into the main atrium together, and he thought he caught sight of something he had never seen before in Zelda. It was in the way she looked at Jonathan.

_Perhaps she looks upon Jonathan as more than just a bodyguard,_ Attula thought to himself as he watched them go their separate ways, _Perhaps Jonathan will become more special then we thought he would. The Goddesses know it's about time we found a prince for her._

----------

It was dark out when General Attula and Jonathan left Kokiri Forest and trotted their horses out onto Hyrule Field. With their eyes adjusted for the darkness, they traveled side-by-side, approaching the pass to Gerudo Valley. While Jonathan rode on Epona, Attula rode on a slightly larger steed with a white coat and a gray mane. Attula had named his steed Vaati.

"Attula, where did you get the name Vaati from?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, there are stories that a long time ago in a totally different land from this one," Attula began, "There was a man named Vaati. It was said that he was a wind sage. And this horse can run like the wind, so I named him Vaati. I thought it was fitting."

"Was this Vaati a glorious hero?" Jonathan inquired.

"Actually, he was the exact opposite," Attula answered, "He was an evil man who sought to control the land. But he was stopped by a hero named Link. Speaking of Link, you got the Master Sword, right?"

"Right here on my back," Jonathan responded, making sure his left hand could grab the fabled blade with it, "You seem to know a lot about the Gerudo."

Attula nodded. "I worked closely with the Gerudo back in the days of the War of Chaos," he stated, "Especially with Ganondorf, before he succumbed to evil. Since I was in close contact with many Gerudo women and I was a lot better-looking back then . . . well, I think you know what I'm getting at."

Jonathan couldn't help but laugh upon hearing that. "Exactly how many daughters did you have during that time?" he asked with a snicker.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think I want to know," Attula replied as he laughed as well, "I'm sure most of those women would have preferred Ganondorf to me, but he was always out on the battlefield, which he loved more than anything else back in those days. And I'm getting too old to deal with that sort of foolishness now, so I'd be seen as useless to them."

"What was Ganondorf like back then?"

"He was a different person back then. He was charismatic, first of all, much more so than he is now. He also had a much more fiery spirit, one of a pure warrior. Back then, he lived for the thrill of battle, to defeat his enemies or die in a blaze of glory. He's a much more cautious man now, dark and brooding. The flame of the warrior that burned so fiercely inside him once has been extinguished. And I believe I know what happened to him that caused that. If we live through this whole thing, I'll tell you the story kid."

Jonathan nodded as the two soldiers continued on their way. "So, how long have you known King Alazon?" he asked the older man.

"A very long time, Jonathan," Attula answered, calculating the figures out loud, "I joined the Hylian Army as soon as I could when I was young, on my 16th birthday. King Alazon was still only a prince at that time, and after a few years, I was assigned to his personal guard. He and I are about the same age, and we became very good friends. But shortly before his 25th birthday, Alazon's father, who was the king of Hyrule at the time, was killed in an ambush that was set up by evil imps and other demons from a dark world unlike our own. And so, Alazon became a king and thus began the War of Chaos, which would last for six years and claim the lives of many good people and warriors. But as for your question, Jonathan, I have known King Alazon for a good 39 years now, and I have been the general of his armies for thirty years. But enough about my story. Jonathan, what do you think of Princess Zelda?"

Jonathan thought for a few moments about that question. "Well, I must say she is a very beautiful young woman," he stated truthfully, "And there is a great bond of trust between us."

"Just how strong is that bond?" Attula inquired, "Would you be willing to die so that she may live?"

"Yes, I would be willing," Jonathan replied in answer. _And she would die for my life,_ he thought to himself, _I just hope it doesn't come down to that._

_He speaks the truth,_ Attula realized, _Their trust in each other is strong._ Attula thought about how he worded his next question very carefully. "Jonathan, I just want you to know that I won't tell anyone about what we say now," Attula began, "With that in mind, do you like Princess Zelda?"

"I enjoy her presence, if that's what you mean," Jonathan replied carefully, "I would consider us friends."

_Just a friend?_ Attula pondered. "Are you interested in her as . . . more than a friend?" Attula inquired.

Jonathan turned his head to his right and looked at Attula. "I've never really thought of her in that way," Jonathan stated a little slowly, it was also a bald-faced lie.

"Why not? Is it Impa's constant presence around the princess?" Attula asked with a chuckle, "Because if that's it, then that's not . . . "

"No, it's not because of Impa," Jonathan replied to the older man as he looked forward again, "It's just that . . . well, she is a princess, the daughter of a king. And I'm nothing but a soldier who five months ago had no idea at all that she even existed at all, let alone be interested in her."

"So you don't feel you are worthy of her," Attula concluded.

Jonathan nodded. "You could put it that way," he affirmed, "And I really don't see myself wanting to be king of this land."

"You really wouldn't have to rule Hyrule, you know," Attula told the young man, "Princess Zelda has grown up knowing that she will become the ruler of this land someday, no matter if, when, or whom she married. Her husband would just be a figurehead to the peoples of Hyrule, and nothing more. And if the only thing that is stopping you is believing you're not worthy of Princess Zelda, perhaps you should ask her if she would consider you to be worthy."

_Why is he even talking about this anyway?_ Jonathan thought to himself as he nodded in affirmation to Attula as they continued on their way to Gerudo Valley.

"Oh, and one more thing about the Gerudo that I think is important for you to know, Jonathan," Attula stated, "Fathering their children is often an unofficial way of earning their help."

"I don't think I'm up for that to be honest," Jonathan remarked, having no desire for what he thought would be unattractive women who had to "steal" boyfriends from villages at night.

Attula chuckled. "We'll see if that resolve lasts once you see a Gerudo in the full bloom of her life," he replied, obviously looking back on fond memories.

_I don't care how attractive they are,_ Jonathan thought, _I won't betray Zelda like that._ Even though Jonathan hadn't told Zelda that he loved her and she hadn't told him that either, he felt that to do what Attula just referred to was a betrayal of her trust in him. Of course, Zelda understood how Gerudo bargaining worked and would have completely disagreed with Jonathan.

----------

"It was nice of these carpenters to give us our own tent for the night," Jonathan told Attula as he lay down to sleep inside a small tent on the far side of the canyon in Gerudo Valley through which Zora's River ran on its way to Lake Hylia.

"You get your rest, Jonathan," Attula ordered, "I'm going to keep watch over our steeds. The Gerudo are very cunning, so we must remain vigilant at all times."

"Then when will you get your sleep?" Jonathan asked.

"I can go without sleeping for tonight," the general replied, "But you will need it for tomorrow, I promise you that, for you will have to gain the respect of the Gerudo, something that is very difficult for any man to do. How they will test you, I do not know. So get some sleep, that's an order."

"Yes sir," Jonathan replied as Attula left the tent. Jonathan fell asleep with surprisingly little trouble, considering he slept with his swords and shield still attached to his clothing and that all he had to rest on was a single pillow.

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Attula was standing still as a statue for almost two hours, keeping watch over the tent his companion slept in and over their horses. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Attula kept in mind just how stealthy the Gerudo could be. There was a reason why the Gerudo thieves were often called "The Shadows of the Desert."

Suddenly, Attula heard one of the horses awake and neighed as it reared on its hind legs. Attula looked and saw it was Jonathan's steed, Epona, who had raised the warning. "Who's there?" he asked in a threatening way as he unsheathed his sword, "Show yourself."

Attula heard a few footsteps from Epona's direction before he saw a person walk into his view. It was a female, about 5-feet, 9-inches tall. Attula had trouble seeing what colors were in her clothes, so he knew she was wearing a dark color. "Why have you come to steal that steed, Gerudo?" he demanded from the Gerudo thief as he pointed the end of his blade at her.

"General Attula, it has been far too long," the Gerudo replied with a seductive voice that the general quickly recognized.

"Jasmine, is that you?" he asked.

The thief walked up to the general's sword and gently pushed it aside as she walked right up to Attula. "I didn't realize you were the owner of that horse," Jasmine continued, "You do remember that we don't steal from our own, and that includes you, my dear general. I am sorry for startling you."

Attula watched as Jasmine walked past him toward the canyon. "Are my daughters doing well?" he asked.

Jasmine chuckled as she turned back toward her former lover who was four years older than she. "Are you still concerned for their sake?" she asked, "They're all accomplished members of our clan now, you know that. We take good care of our own."

General Attula sheathed his sword again and replied, "They are my flesh and blood; I can't help but be concerned for them. And, to tell you the truth, I feel a bit guilty about what I did back then."

"Why should you feel guilty, Attula?" Jasmine asked as she approached the general once again, "Besides the almost suicidal King Ganondorf, you were the only suitable mate who was in our territory for the most part. Sure, some of us look down on what you did, but I certainly do not, and neither does Queen Nabooru."

Attula nodded and said, "Yes, but that doesn't really change the way I feel about the whole thing much."

"So, what brings you back to this part of Hyrule after so long, Attula?" Jasmine inquired, "You know you can speak freely to me."

"You won't tell Ganondorf anything?" Attula asked, even though he already knew what the answer would be. Few of the Gerudo were very fond of Ganondorf ever since the end of the War of Chaos and only followed his rule as a matter of tradition.

"Why did that idiotic Sheikah bastard bring him back to this world?" she asked bitterly, "He betrayed Nabooru so long ago, brainwashed her, all but raped her, and then left her to care for his daughter alone while he spread chaos throughout the lands. The sooner your king returns to power and destroys both Ganondorf and Orizon, the better for us. We don't need Ganondorf, nor do we want him around."

"Well, since you put it that way," Attula began, "I am not here alone. I am traveling with a young warrior named Jonathan. We must recover the part of the Light Power that rests deep within the Spirit Temple."

Jasmine frowned upon hearing this. "Well, if he proves himself worthy of us, he will be allowed to move freely among us," Jasmine said, "But I'm afraid only Ganondorf can order the gate to the Haunted Wasteland to be opened. Unless we get word that he has said so, neither you nor Jonathan can proceed to the Desert Colossus. I am sorry, Attula, but this is a dead end."

"Not necessarily, Jasmine," Attula replied, "You see, from an incident that occurred three months ago, we are certain that Orizon is actually working against Ganondorf now. He knows that we must obtain the Light Power, so we are expecting him to manipulate the situation into one that will get us into the Colossus."

"And if he doesn't interfere?" Jasmine asked.

"He will, as long as he isn't dead," the general responded confidently, "He has his own revenge to satisfy against Ganondorf."

Jasmine nodded and said, "Well, now that we know it's you here and not some random traveler, why don't you get some sleep now? We'll make sure no one takes your steeds, trust me."

"Thanks Jasmine, I appreciate this," the general responded as he walked toward his tent to rest for the remainder of the night.

"Like I said earlier," Jasmine pointed out, "We Gerudo look out for our own, and that includes you."

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Author's Notes: Again, I know I'm introducing some things that have no basis in canon. And in case anyone out there doesn't understand what I'm getting at towards the end of this chapter, you will by the end of the next one.

So, that's about all for now. Until next Friday, read and review everyone.


	18. Chapter 17: A Very Warm Reception

Author's Notes: Once again, I'd like to thank all of the readers out there who read my story in the past week, and especially to all those who reviewed it.

bluenavydragon: Thanks for your continued support. If you can see in your head what's going on in this story, then I'm doing a good job.But I'm sure there are plenty of writers out there who write better stories than me. Then again, they could be the ones who are paid to write, which I'm certainly not going to end up doing.

SPark681: Thanks for your continued support. And if you are a fan of the Zelda series, you know what kind of test will be waiting for Jonathan.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, you won't have to wait long for the answer to your question. I don't know about "worthy," but it should catch your undivided attention. Thanks for your continued support.

And now, I have to warn all of you readers who are a bit young that this chapter will contain a rather adult situation. I don't wish to spoil anything, but if you read the previous chapter, you should have a good idea what I mean here. But if you are under the age of 17, you should read the end of this chapter at your own risk. I will take no responsibility for your actions; you have been warned.

On that note, if you readers feel that this story has outgrown its T rating and should move to a full-blown M, please let me know in some way. I don't want to needlessly expose an M-rated work to underage readers.

And now, on with the story.

**Chapter 17: A Very Warm Reception**

Jonathan mounted up on Epona just after dawn to continue his journey with General Attula to the Gerudo Fortress at the far end of the valley. When he woke up, Jonathan was surprised to see the older man sleeping inside the tent, but he found that both their steeds were still right there next to the tent. After Attula woke up and both men gave their thanks to the carpenters, Jonathan and Attula continued their trek through the valley to the west and north at a leisurely pace.

"In order to gain the respect of the Gerudo, you'll have to do something to impress them," Attula reminded as they were traveling through a bend in the valley, "The way Link did it was to escape from a prison cell inside the fortress, sneak around the whole structure, and free four men from their imprisonment by the Gerudo. I don't think you'll be doing any sneaking around or freeing any prisoners, but they will have something prepared for you."

"How is that?" Jonathan asked, thinking that the Gerudo had no idea they were coming.

"Because they know we're coming," the general stated simply.

As if on a cue, as Attula and Jonathan came around the bend, they saw five dark-skinned women standing right in front of them, all standing in a line blocking the way of the two men on horseback. Four of the women held pole weapons with metal blades on the ends. These four all wore the same clothing. All four had their mouths and noses covered by a purple veil, wore a red and purple garment over their chests, and wore purple pants that ended in cuffs of white and purple elastic just above the ankles and were bordered at the top by a red sash that hung on the Gerudos' hips. They also wore purple shoes with no socks and purple gloves which extended up to the elbows with cuffs of white and purple. All of them had what seemed to be a belt buckle of silver with some sort of insignia inscribed into it, a smooth and round piece of amber right under their chins, had the area around their eyes painted a color lighter than trat of their skin, and their red hair was tied in a kind of bow behind their heads. There was no way Jonathan could differentiate between any of these women besides slight differences in height.

The Gerudo in the middle, however, was slightly different. She wore the same garment over her chest, but she was wearing white pants instead of purple ones. She also wore purple shoes with no socks and the same purple gloves that went up to her elbows. However, along with the light-colored paint smeared around her eyes, her lips were also colored white. Also, unlike the others, her red hair was held in as a simple ponytail that went all the way down to her hips. All five had long, bright red hair and eyes that were colored gold. And they all were about as tall as Jonathan was, if not slightly taller than him.

"We have been waiting for you, General Attula," the Gerudo in the middle stated as she looked toward Jonathan, "And I assume this is that warrior named Jonathan you told me about last night."

"Yes, this is Jonathan," Attula answered as Jonathan quickly looked at the general, demanding an explanation, "What are you doing here Jasmine?"

"Waiting for you two, of course," Jasmine answered, "Follow us." And with that, Jasmine led the four veiled Gerudo and the two male warriors further up the valley.

"You told her about our journey?" Jonathan demanded quietly, "They are our enemies, in case you forgot that."

"Jonathan, these Gerudo hate Ganondorf," Attula answered simply, "They want to help us get rid of him again."

"Ganondorf is their king," Jonathan stated, showing his knowledge of traditional Hylian politics, "They serve him and only him. We can't trust these people."

"Jonathan, I trust them," Attula said strongly, "And if you pass their test, you will learn to trust them as well. Now that is enough from you. You have to focus, or else you will fail."

At this moment, Jonathan was still upset that Attula seemed to have abandoned him, but something told him that Attula knew what he was talking about, so he stopped talking for the moment. After a short time, Jonathan and Attula came upon a fortress made of stone bricks of the same color as the desert ground over which they traveled.

"Welcome to the Gerudo Fortress," Jasmine announced, "You may dismount now, Jonathan."

"Do what she says," Attula whispered to him, "I'll be watching, but I cannot interfere."

Jonathan nodded, still a little ticked off, and got down from Epona's back and walked up to Jasmine, looking her straight in the eyes.

Jasmine chuckled. "It will take more than bravado to win us over," she stated, "Follow me and you shall be tested, if you wish to become one of us, that is. You are free to go back."

_I can't go back,_ Jonathan thought, _I have to get the Light Power._ Jonathan looked straight into Jasmine's eyes, which were exactly level with his, and simply said, "Bring it on."

Jasmine smiled as she turned and walked up a small incline that led to an area behind the fortress structure. From what Jonathan could see of it, the fortress seemed to be not one big structure, but many smaller ones or varying sizes that were probably connected in some way inside the buildings. He also couldn't see many windows on the outside of the structure. He also caught sight of a few other Gerudo guards with purple veils and pole-mounted blades. _They all look exactly alike,_ Jonathan thought, _I wonder why they do that._

As Jonathan came to the top of the incline, he looked around and saw what seemed to be an archery range of some sort, seeing that there were numerous circular shaped targets in this area. But what then caught Jonathan's undivided attention was what was going on in the middle of the area. There, he saw several more Gerudo, but these ones were very different from the others he had encountered before. For these Gerudo were without a doubt around his age, in their prime of their lives. They wore very different uniforms as well. Instead of purple or white, these thieves wore bright red uniforms. Like the others, they wore no socks, but they wore red shoes over their feet. Their pants also had the cuffs of elastic just above the ankles, but the pants were colored red. And the sashes appeared white and unusual for some reason that Jonathan couldn't figure out at the moment. Over their chests, they wore a red and black version of the garment the other Gerudo wore. However, the pendants they wore were not the amber ones he had seen earlier, but finely cut rubies with gold inlays that held the ruby in place. Like Jasmine, their hair was fashioned into a simple, albeit long ponytail that reached down to the hips. Their red hair matched their clothing well. They were also wearing red veils over their mouths and noses, disguising their identities. They also wore red gloves similar to the ones the other Gerudo wore. Besides their clothing, the biggest differences with these Gerudo were their weapons. All the red clad women were carrying a large curved sword that was about three feet long in either hand, which they could use in either offense or in defense of themselves. Like the other Gerudo, they had dark-colored skin and were unusually tall and strong.

_Wow, they certainly are intimidating, and remarkably alluring,_ Jonathan thought to himself as he looked on. "Who are they?" he asked Jasmine.

"Those are seven of our best prison guards," Jasmine replied, "They are some of our best warriors." She then turned and looked right at Jonathan. "And you're going to have to defeat them."

Jonathan looked in panic at Jasmine. "All seven of them?" he asked quickly.

Jasmine smiled as she looked back at the guards who were nearly finished with their morning exercises. "They shall decide exactly what will happen to you," she replied as she walked toward the prison guards, "Girls, think you're up to some serious sparing?"

One of the red-clad Gerudo looked toward Jasmine and caught sight of Jonathan in the process. "Who is that man over there?" she asked as she pointed one of her blades at him, "I have never seen him before."

"He seeks to prove himself worthy of us," Jasmine replied, at which the other six prison guards immediately looked toward Jonathan, "I've decided to have you seven test him however you want to. Just do not underestimate him."

Jonathan began approaching the group as he pulled Alazon's Blade from its sheath with his right hand and grabbed the shield off his back and strapped in onto his left arm, getting ready for a fight with these women.

"A Horonian?" another one of the prison guards asked, "Why has he come here to die?"

_Horonian?_ Jonathan asked himself, _What is a Horonian?_

"His name is Jonathan, and he was brought here by General Attula," Jasmine replied, "He seeks passage to the Desert Colossus. He has obtained the Master Sword, so he must be a very capable fighter."

"So, when will he be deemed worthy of our kind?" the tallest of the prison guards present asked as Jonathan reached the place where Jasmine was standing.

"As I said, I will leave that up to you seven," Jasmine replied as she started walking away from Jonathan and the seven prison guards, "All I will tell you is not to underestimate him."

"Everyone, lets pull it together for a minute," one of the Gerudo guards said. The other six gathered around her and made sure Jonathan was not able to hear their discussion. "How shall we do this?" she asked her companions.

"Lets make this quick," one of the guards said, "All of us against him at the same time."

"No, we got to give this chump a chance, you know," another guard replied, "We should face him one at a time."

"Seven Gerudo against one is an unwinnable fight, so one-on-one it will be," the leader of the group said, "But will we let him decide whom he faces?"

"If we aren't going to face him all at once, at least give us the advantage of deciding whom he fights," the first guard answered.

"Yes, that way we can truly determine if he could beat all of us without all of us having to fight him," another guard agreed, "Lets just get this over with quickly. I have better things to do than fight a man."

"Yeah, like make love to him," one of the guards remarked, "He certainly is handsome."

"Knock it off Fara," the leader ordered, "Then who should face him first?"

"Well, Hinay is the least skilled among us," another guard replied, "So let her fight first. If she beats him, that's that. But if she loses, we can assess the situation and figure out who to send next."

"Hinay, do you want to face him first?" the leader asked a Gerudo who had not spoken yet.

Hinay nodded in affirmation. "I'll face him," she said simply.

"Lastly," the leader began, "Will this go to the death? Or shall we allow submission? Hinay, since you fight first, the choice is yours."

Hinay's response was almost immediate. "I know nothing of this opponent," she pointed out, "And I have no quarrel with him. We should allow submission for both sides."

"Then we shall allow submission," the leader decided, "Let this begin."

Jonathan saw that the seven Gerudo prison guards turn around and got into a line as they all looked at him. For several seconds, not one of them made a sound or a move. This was unnerving Jonathan, who brought up his shield for defense, almost expecting an arrow to come flying at him from any direction. Finally, one of the guards stepped forward and brought up her two swords in front of her body. "I am Hinay, and I shall be your opponent," she said. Jonathan saw she was about 5-feet, 8-inches tall. Height was about the only thing Jonathan could use to distinguish one Gerudo from another, since they looked so similar otherwise.

"You will fight us one at a time," the leader of the group began, "Until either you submit to us or we admit our defeat at your hands. You may not have to face all seven of us. This fight will go on until one of you admits defeat and submits or dies. You may begin now."

Hinay and Jonathan started out in defensive stances, Jonathan holding up his shield toward Hinay while keeping the sword in his right hand at the ready for a counterstrike, while Hinay kept her swords crossed in front of her body. They circled around each other in a counterclockwise direction, waiting to see who would make the first move. Finally, after about ten second, Jonathan quickly moved in on Hinay and tried to stab his sword through the Gerudo's guard. However, Hinay shifted her blades to quickly knock the sword's blade away from her, and then used the sword in her right hand to slash at Jonathan's body. Jonathan was able to brace behind his shield, which stopped Hinay's blade. Jonathan then swung his sword down on top of Hinay, who used the blade in her left hand to stop Jonathan's strike. Hinay then used the sword in her right hand to attack Jonathan again, this time with a stabbing strike. Jonathan was able to jump back and away from Hinay before the sword hit his shield.

_Damn, she's good,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _I don't think a conventional approach is going to work here._

"Not bad," Hinay said as she twirled her dual blades around her body in an impressive show of her skill in handling them, "For a man, that is."

----------

General Attula looked on as Jonathan and Hinay continued the fight. From the start, he did not like how Jonathan was handling the fight. _He is doing everything right, except he isn't thinking about the situation,_ Attula thought to himself, _Which means he is doing everything wrong._ He was holding his own against the Gerudo, but for a fight like this one, that wasn't enough.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Jasmine asked Attula, "I'd expect this in normal sparing, not in a fight."

Attula frowned. "He's not thinking," he replied simply, "Impa must not have taught him more advanced fighting tactics. He's never had to deal with an enemy that actively defends like that Gerudo is doing now. What Jonathan is doing right now is waiting for a sloppy move on her part, but a Gerudo prison guard making a sloppy move is a very rare occurrence in battle."

"So, Hinay will win this fight," Jasmine stated.

"No, it will be a draw at this rate," Attula corrected, "Because I'm sure Jonathan won't make a sloppy move either."

"I don't think a draw will be good enough for him," Jasmine revealed, "At least, not against Hinay. She is the least skilled among these seven. Now, if he fought their leader, Magne, to a draw, that would be a different story."

"What frustrates me is that if he thought about his opponent for a moment, he should find himself to have a distinct reach advantage over Hinay," Attula pointed out, "Both are using blades that are equal in length, but Jonathan is taller and has slightly longer arms than his opponent. He could use that to his advantage if he thought about his strategy for a moment."

----------

After another extended exchange of sword slashes that were all blocked, Hinay jumped back to avoid Jonathan's overhead downward strike and to get ready for the next exchange.

_Damn, this is getting frustrating,_ Jonathan thought as he raised his guard and again started to circle around Hinay again, _I can't break through her guard. But I can't just start charging at her, since she's so agile._ Suddenly, Jonathan remembered something he heard once while watching a boxing match back on Earth. _If I'm taller than she, then my arms are longer than hers. And since our blades are equal in length, I have a longer reach than she. All I have to do is stay out of her range while staying close enough so that I can hit her,_ he realized.

Jonathan waited until Hinay came in to attack again. This time, Hinay started with a double blade stab, extending both arms straight in front of her and trying to catch Jonathan off-balance. However, Jonathan backed away and out of Hinay's range, then stabbed his sword at his opponent while she was still in mid-attack. Caught off-guard by this change in tactics, Hinay was spared from injury only by the fact that Jonathan had moved back too far and could not hit her from where he was standing. Hinay decided to back off again before making her next move. Studying Jonathan, nothing seemed to be different about him, but she sensed that something in the battle had changed drastically. Once again, she tried to attack. Every time she did so, however, Jonathan moved away from her, occasionally stabbing at her with his sword. Soon, this strategy led to Hinay growing frustrated with Jonathan. With a yell, she ran in on her opponent and swung the sword in her right hand around, aiming to take off Jonathan's head with it. However, she made a mistake; she did nothing with her other sword, neither setting a defense for a possible counterattack, nor using it for a follow-up attack. Jonathan saw that Hinay's left sword was idle at her side as she attacked, so instead of blocking her blow with his shield, he ducked at the last possible moment and then stabbed at Hinay's unprotected abdomen with a yell of his own.

Hinay stopped moving the moment she felt the kiss of cold steel on the left side of her abdomen. Looking down, she saw the end of Jonathan's blade, pushed right up against her skin. Both warriors knew that the end of that sword could easily be inside her abdomen now instead of against its side. Hinay knew that she had just been beaten. She backed away from Jonathan slowly, got down on her knees and laid her swords on the ground. "I submit," she proclaimed and she bowed her head toward Jonathan, acknowledging his superiority. Jonathan sheathed his sword and bowed in respect to Hinay as she grabbed her swords again, stood up, and slowly walked back to the other six prison guards while Jonathan got down on his left knee in order to regain some of the energy he had just used up fighting Hinay.

_She screwed up,_ Jonathan thought as he prepared for the next fighter, _The next one won't._

----------

"Not an exciting way to fight, but I suppose it works," Jasmine commented upon seeing Hinay go down onto her knees.

"Jonathan figured out how to win, but he also got lucky," Attula pointed out, "Hinay lost her patience and her focus on the battle. She used only one blade when she had two to use. That was her mistake."

"Yes, it was a mistake, but sometimes that's what makes the difference in battle, one single mistake," Jasmine responded, "All Gerudo are trained to never make that mistake."

"I wonder who they will send against Jonathan next," Attula wondered out loud.

----------

"Hinay, you screwed up," Magne berated Hinay as soon as she was back within the group, "You have two swords for a reason, you know."

"I will make no excuses for my lapse of concentration," Hinay replied, "But this young man is indeed a very skilled swordsman. He was superior to me today."

"Then I shall challenge him," Magne stated, "For I am the most skilled one of us. I will teach this outsider some respect."

And with that, she walked forward alone with a blade in each of her hands. Jonathan judged that she was his height, but saw that her arms were a little unusually short. _I think I have the reach advantage again,_ he thought, _But this one is probably better than Hinay. I'd better stay out of her range._ He got back up on his feet and unsheathed his sword, preparing for another fight.

"I am Magne, and I shall be your opponent now," Magne announced as she too showed off her skills with the swords with an even more impressive display, which included juggling her blades between her hands. Once she had finished that, she said, "Let us begin."

Jonathan brought up his shield again, backing away as Magne came rushing in with her blades constantly striking at Jonathan. He found himself on the complete defensive, fending off what seemed to be four swords at once with his shield and his own blade. Finally, he grew tired of that trend and when he saw a small opening in Magne's attacking, he suddenly moved forward and pushed her backwards with his shield, then rushed up and followed up with his sword. However, Jonathan realized quickly that Magne used her two blades much more effectively than Hinay had. Hinay had usually only attacked with one sword, while she kept the other in reserve for constant defense. Magne, on the other hand, knew that often the best defense was an unrelenting offense, so she kept up the pressure on Jonathan to defend or to just stay out of her range. Jonathan managed to get off the occasional stab with his sword, but he was constantly being pushed back and he knew that he wasn't going to win this fight that way.

----------

"Magne's skill with those two blades is extremely proficient," Attula commented as he saw Jonathan try to hold off the leader of this group of Gerudo guards.

"Indeed, she is," Jasmine agreed, "There's no way that young man will gain the upper hand against her."

"Every fighting style has an inherent weakness," Attula stated, "I am confident that Jonathan will find it."

----------

Jonathan continued to try to ward off the attacks of Magne, trying to find an opening through which to gain the upper hand. Suddenly, Jonathan saw Magne bring both of her blades up to shoulder level. Realizing what was about to happen, Jonathan attempted to move backwards, but was not fast enough to avoid the blades completely. The tip of the sword in Magne's right hand made a small cut on the left side of Jonathan's neck.

Jonathan grunted in pain as he stumbled backwards and put the back of his right hand on where he had felt the pain in his neck. When he pulled his hand away, he saw a narrow string of blood. Magne saw it too, and smiled upon seeing the spilt blood of her opponent. "You are wounded," she pointed out as she brought up the blade that had done the damage.

"It's just a scratch," Jonathan replied as he brought up his shield and sword again, "Nothing for me to worry about."

"We'll just see about that," Magne stated as she ran at him again with her blades swinging.

_I need her to try to take my head off again,_ Jonathan thought quickly, _If I can duck under the swords, her body is completely unprotected. I can pull this off._ Jonathan now changed tactics. He now stayed well within Magne's attack range while he blocked and parried blow after blow, waiting for his opportunity to come up. Finally, he saw Magne once again pull her swords back together at shoulder level and then quickly tried to cut Jonathan's head off. This time, however, Jonathan got down on his knees and ducked the strike. Magne was not fazed, however, and immediately brought her swords down to protect her body from Jonathan's blade.

Magne's problem was that Jonathan had something totally different in mind. Instead of the sword, he used both his arms to push his shield into the lower part of Magne's body. Her forward momentum allowed him to use the shield to lift Magne off the ground and then flip her over in midair before she landed flat on her back with a grunt of pain. As she tried to get up, she caught sight of Jonathan's blade hovering above the left side of her face, pointing right into her neck. _What the hell was that? _was all that the dazed Gerudo could think to herself, _What did I do wrong?_

"I submit," Magne pronounced as she let go of her swords. Jonathan sheathed his sword, and then extended his right hand toward her to help her back to her feet. However, Magne could not accept the help from him, and so got up on her own power, picked up her blades, and slowly walked back to the group of prison guards while Jonathan went down to his knee once again.

----------

"I have never seen anything like that before," Jasmine stated.

"Nor have I," Attula replied, "But it turned out to be the right action in that situation. Magne did nothing wrong. Jonathan was able to counter her attacks in just the right way to gain the upper hand in the fight."

"She is the most skilled of that group," Jasmine said, "I think they're going to realize now that Jonathan will be able to outsmart any of them. I can't see this going on anymore. Jonathan is definitely superior in either skill, luck, or both to all seven of them."

"Perhaps to be lucky is unfair," Attula mused, "Then again, luck usually falls to those who prepare for it."

----------

Magne rejoined the group of her peers. "He's too smart," she explained, "He can find our smallest weaknesses and exploit them perfectly. I don't think we can beat him."

"Let me try fighting him," the tallest member of the group requested, "We haven't tested his agility at all. If he is not agile, I will be able to defeat him."

"Is anyone else willing to try fighting him now?" Magne asked the other four members of the group. When all shook their heads, she said, "Nani, if you wish to face him, go ahead."

"Thank you," Nani replied as she left the group and walked toward Jonathan, "I am Nani, and I shall be your opponent now."

Jonathan stood up and looked at his new enemy, realizing something immediately. _She's taller than me,_ he thought, and he was right. Nani was 6-feet even, unusually tall even by Gerudo standards. _This means she has the reach advantage on me, so I'm going to have to get on the inside somehow._

Jonathan pulled out his sword again and prepared for battle once again. "Let us begin," Nani said as she brought up her swords in a defensive stance.

----------

"Nani is going to fight him?" Jasmine asked, "I didn't see that one coming."

"It makes sense, though," Attula began to explain, "You see, she's the only one who's taller than Jonathan. Thus, she has a reach advantage. Jonathan is going to have to take more than one big risk to win this fight."

----------

Jonathan tried to fight his way around Nani's defenses, but time and time again, his attempts were thwarted. She was able to keep him far enough away from her that he was not able to hurt her, but she could still hurt Jonathan. Using her swords, Nani kept Jonathan from moving around too much to either side, basically forcing him to stand still while she moved around him at will.

_Her forward defense is too strong,_ Jonathan thought, _I can't get through it. And she's stopping me from going around it. I have to surprise her somehow. And if I can't go through or around her, then I guess the only way is to go over her._ Jonathan looked at the 6-foot-tall Gerudo and wondered if he could somehow jump over her. _Her swords can go up to over nine feet in the air,_ Jonathan realized, _There's no way I can jump that high. But if I can make her crouch down, I think I can pull this off._

"It appears I need more offensive power," Jonathan commented as he stepped back from the engagement for a moment. He pulled the shield off of his left arm and hung it onto his back. Then, he grabbed the hilt of the Master Sword with his left hand.

"Jonathan, do you need my help?" Link asked in Jonathan's head.

"Sorry Link, I just need to use the sword right now," Jonathan replied in thought as he pulled the Master Sword out from the sheathe that had been made for it recently.

"Jonathan, you must remember that unless I use it, the Master Sword cannot cut though anything," Link reminded, "Be careful."

"I will," Jonathan replied as he held both swords at his side and looked right at Nani who standing about fifteen feet away from him. _Of course, she doesn't know that. I have to time this just right,_ Jonathan thought, _Since I'm only going to get one shot at this._

Jonathan then started running toward Nani as fast as he feet could carry him, holding both of his swords at shoulder level. Suddenly, Jonathan moved his left arm across his body, and then flung the Master Sword in Nani's direction. Instinctively, Nani ducked to avoid the spinning blade. When she looked up in Jonathan's direction again, however, he was nowhere to be seen. Before she had a chance to think about this happening, she heard the sound of something landing on the ground behind her. Before she could react, it was already too late, as she felt the chill of cold steel against the left side of her neck.

"I submit," Nani announced as she too went down on her knees and let go of her blades on the ground.

As Jonathan sheathed his sword again, the other six Gerudo prison guards approached both warriors. Jonathan looked toward the group and noticed that one of them was holding the Master Sword in her hand. "You carry the Blade of Evil's Bane," Magne said as she handed Jonathan the sword, "You are a very skilled warrior indeed."

"Thank you," Jonathan replied as he put the Master Sword back in its sheathe on his back, "Are there any more tests?"

Nani got back on her feet and walked over to the group. She simply nodded to Magne, and Magne nodded back in agreement. They had seen enough. "Jonathan, we have judged you to be worthy," Magne said as she turned back toward Jonathan, "From this time forward, you shall be an honorary member of our people."

Jonathan bowed his head in respect. "You all have nothing to be ashamed of," Jonathan replied, "You're all very skilled in battle, I would think. Thank you for accepting me."

----------

"That was very daring," Jasmine said after the battle between Jonathan and Nani had finished, "He could have been killed very easily doing what he did."

"But he knew he had to take the risk," Attula pointed out, "Otherwise, Nani would have worn him down. Jonathan is a skilled fighter now, but I can tell he still has untapped potential within him. If he could use that remaining potential, Jonathan could become the greatest swordsman this land has ever seen."

"That's quite a statement to make about him," Jasmine replied, "But I also see the potential you speak of, though I find it hard to believe he could be better than Link."

----------

As Jonathan began walking back toward General Attula, he suddenly started looking weak. He began breathing harder than normal, slowed his walking speed, and began hunching over.

"Jonathan, is there something wrong?" Magne asked, noticing this change almost immediately in their newest clan member.

"Those fights took a lot of energy out of me, and this heat isn't helping me at all," Jonathan replied as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was not yet midday, but the desert around Jonathan was already heating up past what Jonathan was used to at this time.

"Lets take him inside," one of the guards said as she and Hinay lifted Jonathan up by his arms and helped him get inside the Gerudo Fortress. Heading deeper into the fortress, Jonathan felt it getting cooler and cooler as they went along, but it also felt more damp. _It feels like we're getting closer to a water source or something,_ Jonathan thought as the group finally came to a stop.

"Can you walk on your own now?" Hinay asked.

"Yeah, thanks a lot though," Jonathan said as his feet took full control of his body again. However, he was still a little dizzy and stumbled a little bit before firmly regaining his footing.

"He's dehydrated," Nani realized, "Someone get him a drink."

Quickly, one of the guards ran off, but seemed to be back almost immediately. "Thank you Fara," Jonathan heard Magne say before he saw her walk up to him with a cup filled with water in her hands. "Here, drink this, it will help you," she requested as she put the cup in Jonathan's hands.

Jonathan put the cup to his lips and drank almost immediately. He drained the cup after a few seconds and felt rejuvenated almost immediately. _That tasted too good to be just plain water,_ Jonathan thought as he looked around and saw that all the seven Gerudo were taking off the veils that covered their faces.

"I don't think you know all of us yet, Jonathan," Magne said after she took off her veil and started pointing to the other Gerudo, "You, of course, know Hinay, Nani, and myself. The others are Ayana, Velai, Junoti, and Fara."

Jonathan nodded and looked around at the other Gerudo guards. Even without the veils on, it was still hard for Jonathan to tell them apart. _I wonder how they tell each other apart,_ Jonathan thought, _Probably by the sounds of their voices or something subtle like that._

"Well Jonathan," Magne proclaimed with a smile, "Welcome to your new family. Now that you are a Gerudo, we shall do whatever we can to protect you from harm, but you must also do the same for us and all other Gerudo. Since this is a family, everyone must always look out for everyone else."

"But of course," Jonathan replied, "However, does this mean I have to help King Ganondorf as well?"

"Absolutely not," Magne answered quickly, "He betrayed us years ago in his insane quest for absolute power. He is no longer a Gerudo to me and most around here would agree with me on that. He is now our enemy, and I would ask you to do everything that you can to send that demon back to the Dark World."

"No need to ask, that's the reason why I came here in the first place," he answered, "In order to destroy Ganondorf, I need to get to the Spirit Temple and recover something held within its walls."

Magne frowned as she looked toward the ground. "Unfortunately, Ganondorf has total control over the gate outside this fortress that leads into the Haunted Wasteland," Magne said, "Even Queen Nabooru may not be able to find a reason to tell Ganondorf that would make him open the gate for you. I'm very sorry Jonathan, but there is nothing any of us can do to help you on that account."

Suddenly, Fara stepped forward slowly toward Jonathan. As he looked at her, Jonathan saw something in her eyes that he had seen before in his life, but he couldn't quite remember when he saw it or what he saw it in with the state he was in right now. But whatever he saw in Fara, it put Jonathan on edge quickly, as he wasn't expecting it.

"Jonathan, if you do plan to go to the Desert Colossus," Fara began in a voice similar to Hinay's, "Then you ought to be well prepared for the harsh desert winds and grave dangers that await you on your journey. I can help you if you allow me to completely rejuvenate your body and spirit."

_I still feel really weak from those battles,_ Jonathan thought, _But something about this offer makes me nervous. But these people are my friends now, so what do I have to fear from Fara?_

Just as Jonathan was about to accept Fara's offer, Magne had caught sight of Fara's eyes. She too saw what Jonathan saw, but she immediately realized what it meant. And she then knew what Fara's intentions were, and Magne didn't like it at all. "Fara, can I please have a word with you in private? I'd like to speak to you about your duties," Magne requested.

After a short pause, Fara turned toward Magne and followed her around a nearby corner in the stone corridor. "I haven't been lacking in my duties, have I?" she asked quietly.

"Fara, you know damn well this isn't about your duties," Magne started out in a berating manner, "I know what you want to do to Jonathan, and I don't like it at all."

"Why are you taking any interest in this?" Fara, who was as tall as Magne, inquired, "I would never bother your interests in men, if you ever show any."

"It's not that," Magne responded, "I don't question any rights you have, but what you plan to do to Jonathan is not right. He just became one of us, you know, and you're going to treat him like an average Hylian?"

"Trust me, I'm not going to frighten him too badly," Fara tried to assure her leader, "But when I see something I want, I take it at any cost as long as I don't cross my people. And I see something I want in Jonathan. I'm going to get what I want, whether you like it or not, Magne."

After a short pause, Magne said, "Fine, there is nothing I can do to stop you from doing this. But if I see that you have done more harm than good to him, I will have you disciplined for harming a fellow Gerudo. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly," Fara answered simply as she walked back to the group and stepped in front of Jonathan again, "So Jonathan, what do you say?"

"I don't see any reason to say no," Jonathan replied, completely unaware of what was coming, "How long will this take?"

"You'll be ready to meet Queen Nabooru herself within the next two hours," Fara answered simply, "Please, follow me."

And with that, Fara led Jonathan past the other six Gerudo deeper into the corridors of the Gerudo Fortress.

"I understand why you don't like this situation, Magne," Ayana pointed out to the leader of the group, "But I would think that if Jonathan really is strong enough to be a Gerudo, he will come out of this just fine."

Magne nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, but it still doesn't seem right to me," Magne clarified, "I guess there's nothing else we can do here. Lets go and get ready to present him to Queen Nabooru. Or what's left of him."

----------

After a short journey through more maze-like corridors, Fara led Jonathan into a well-lit room deep within the fortress. Upon entering, Jonathan saw that the large, square room was illuminated by torches that were hanging on the walls at regular intervals. Jonathan also saw four open containers in the room that he immediately recognized as bath tubs. There were also wall paintings all across the room. _This must be where they bathe,_ Jonathan realized, _After all the action, I really do need to unwind._

"I think you really need to wash up," Fara suggested, "Your face is covered with dust from those fights earlier."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Jonathan replied as he began to take off his gauntlets, "But we're in the middle of a desert. Where do you get the water for bathing?"

"It comes from Zora's River," she answered, "It comes here through a system of pipes. The water is guided here by gravity. It's very simple, really. By the way, you can just put your clothes next to the tub you'll be using."

"This one will be fine," Jonathan replied as he walked next to the nearest tub and dropped his gauntlets on the floor next to it, "Just don't steal any of my clothes, okay?" he added with a laugh.

Fara laughed as well. "Don't worry, Gerudo don't steal from each other," she replied.

"I guess there really is honor among thieves then," Jonathan said as he took off his boots and felt the cold stone floor against his bare feet and shivered a little upon touching the damp stone, "Are you going to stay in here while I'm bathing?"

"I'm going to have to," Fara replied simply, "Unless you know how to make the baths work. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Jonathan thanked as he took off his weapons and his shield and then looked down at his clothes, "But I'd also appreciate a new set of clothes after this. Mine are dirty as hell. I can't meet your queen in these things."

"Don't worry, I'll get something ready for you," Fara assured as she watched Jonathan from behind as he unbuckled the belts on the front of his tunic and took it off his body, letting it fall to the floor as well, "I think I'll get the water running now. Hot bath or cold?" She was hoping he wouldn't say cold.

"Can you go right in the middle of those two?" Jonathan asked as he unbuckled the belt that held up his skirt and dropped both, leaving only his white undergarment.

"Absolutely," she replied as she turned the correct valves, and an even mix of hot and cold water began filling the tub Jonathan was standing next to.

Jonathan dipped his hand into the filling tub, testing the water temperature. Nodding, he said, "Yeah, that's almost perfect. Just a little warmer."

Fara opened the hot water valve a tiny bit more and then walked next to Jonathan as he pulled his hand out of the water. "I'll help you with these buckles," Fara said as she started to unfasten the buckles on the back of Jonathan's undergarment.

"Thanks, those are always a pain to get off and on by myself," Jonathan replied as he waited for Fara to finish with his buckles. Once she got the third one off, Jonathan pulled his undergarment off the top half of his body, exposing his chest and back to view. Fara was thoroughly impressed with how good of shape he was in. He was no bodybuilder, but Fara could see that Jonathan was in excellent physical condition.

"You've gotten good training, I can see that," Fara commented.

"Thanks," Jonathan said as he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Do you still have to be here?"

Fara laughed. "Jonathan, relax," she comforted, "Don't be embarrassed. I won't tell anyone how small you happen to be."

_Does she think I'm shy because of that?_ Jonathan asked himself with slight amusement. "Well, alright," he said with a chuckle, "But you asked for it." He then pulled the rest of the undergarment off of his body.

It took all the concentration Fara had in her to prevent her jaw from dropping and to keep her eyes in their sockets as she looked at the lower half of his body. "Wow, that's . . . ," she began before she started laughing, "That's big."

Jonathan blushed as he stepped into the bathtub which was now half full, letting out a sigh as his body sank into the warm, cleansing water. Fara went over to the pipes supplying water to the bathtub and turned off the flow of water. "Just relax, Jonathan," Fara said, "And get yourself cleaned up."

Jonathan dipped his head underwater for a moment, then surfaced and let the bath water do its work. The bathtub was just about the perfect size for Jonathan; it was a little wider than Jonathan was. Also, one end was sloped so that he could rest his head on it, while the other end was flat, so Jonathan had a firm footing. _Wow, the Gerudo sure know how to take care of their own,_ Jonathan thought, not looking behind him as Fara quietly took off her shoes. Instead, Jonathan looked down at himself and started shaking his head. _I should have asked for cold water, I kinda need some right now,_ Jonathan realized, _Well, actually, I don't think Fara is going to jump on me or anything, so I guess I don't need to worry about that._ He couldn't have been more wrong as Fara took off the rest of her clothing and placed them silently on the ground with her shoes.

Jonathan closed his eyes and relaxed in the tub. A part of his mind told him to fall asleep, but before he could start doing that, he felt a hand on top of his chest. He immediately opened his eyes and saw Fara standing to the side of the tub, holding him down with her right hand. She was also, like Jonathan, completely naked.

"Fara, what the hell is this?" Jonathan asked quickly, initially thinking that she was going to drown him, "What are you doing?"

"When I see something I want, I get it," Fara responded seductively, "And I see something I want right now." Holding Jonathan's body down, Fara began to step into the tub with him.

_Oh my God,_ Jonathan suddenly realized as he finally saw that Fara was indeed totally nude, _I can't let her do this. Zelda would kill me if she learned about this._ He tried to struggle against her, but Fara was now pinning Jonathan down in the tub between her knees and he couldn't get any sort of footing to push Fara off of him. And besides that, a large part of Jonathan's mind didn't want to resist Fara's advances at all.

"Stop struggling Jonathan," Fara ordered as she got ready for the kill, "And just take it like a man."

_There's absolutely nothing I can do,_ Jonathan realized as he did stop struggling, _I'm about to get screwed against my will and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it._ Normally, Jonathan would find an encounter like this very much wanted. And indeed, it was most pleasurable to both him and Fara.

----------

Author's Notes: I will explain my take on Gerudo society here, but first I will repeat my earlier request that if you think this needs to be rated M, please tell me.

As the Gerudo society is made up entirely of females (excluding the one male born every hundred years), they have to use some unusual schemes in order to continue their race. Stealing boyfriends was mentioned in Ocarina of Time by one of those time stones. And arranging to father Gerudo children as terms of agreements with the Gerudo is not unusual at all here on Earth; arranged marriages were common between the royal families of Europe in the past, effectively making children pawns in an elaborate and complicated game of controlling power. As to Jonathan being something Fara wants, she simply means (as she will explain to Jonathan) that he was the most impressive man she had ever seen. In the animal kingdom, males often have to compete with each other for the rite to mate with the females in order to ensure that the strongest genes are passed down to the next generation. So, there is my explanation of what happened at the end of this chapter.

You may also be wondering why I wrote that scene as I did, with no explicit details. Well, first of all, I want to try to keep this rated T if I can. But even if I had to bump this up to an M rating, I wouldn't make the scene more explicit because I simply have no personal experience in this sort of thing.

As to the separate one-on-one conflicts earlier, remember that the task was to determine if Jonathan was worthy of the Gerudo. I think even Link would have serious trouble trying to fight seven Gerudo prison guards at once, and the guards realize that seven-on-one isn't fair when it is warrior vs. warrior. Had all seven attacked Jonathan at once, he would have been defeated easily, but that would have defeated the purpose of the fighting to begin with.

And don't accuse me of having sex in my story just for its own sake. I plan on bringing Fara and her future child back in the future works of this trilogy. Speaking of the future works, the next chapter of this story will mention some things that will be very important for the second work in this trilogy, Dark Apprentice. And it will be something the Zelda fans will recognize immediately.

Well, that's all for this week. A new chapter will come next Friday. Until then, read and review everyone.


	19. Chapter 18: Ganondorf's Arrival

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all of you who read my story in the past week (sorry for posting it a little late), and especially to those who reviewed it.

bluenavydragon: One vote for staying at T. Yeah, I don't think the content is explicit enough to warrant an M. Thanks for the support.

Infernal Flame Zero: Make that two votes for keeping it at T. However, I have to disagree with you about Zelda's reaction to Jonathan's... transgression. First of all, who said that Jonathan and Zelda were a couple? And second, being the heir to the throne, Zelda understands how the other races of Hyrule work, and that this is how the Gerudo work. And if you can see what is going on in your mind, I think I'm doing this right. Thanks for your support.

SPark681: Okay, I'll keep it at T for now. I intend to keep up the good work, and thinks for your support.

Now, lets see what kind of trouble Jonathan can get into this time.

**Chapter 18: Ganondorf's Arrival**

Jonathan awoke with a groan. The water in the bathtub sloshed around him as he slowly looked around. _Maybe that whole thing was just some crazy dream,_ Jonathan tried to convince himself as he looked towards the entranceway to the bath room. There, he saw Fara, fully clothed except for her missing veil, standing against a wall, looking at him with a look of triumph and satisfaction on her face. _No, that was no dream,_ Jonathan admitted to himself, _That really happened, and we both enjoyed it._

"You're awake," Fara said as she walked towards the tub with something purple draped over her arms, "Jonathan, I must thank you for that. You are much more of a man than I gave you credit for at first."

Jonathan still could not believe that Fara did what she had done to him. He shook his head slowly and said nothing. His regret of betraying Zelda was starting to set in.

Fara reached into the tub and pulled out the plug at the lowest point in it, causing the bath water to flow out. "Jonathan, I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Fara began to apologize, "But this was something I needed to do for both of us."

"Both of us?" Jonathan repeated incredulously as he looked at her, "Fara, you just completely betrayed my trust in you. How is that supposed to help me?"

"Jonathan, I may have just betrayed your trust in me, but what just happened to you is nothing compared to what may await you further ahead on your path. When we decided to make you a Gerudo, we believed that you have, among other things, a strong will. If you are going to let this break your will, then you have no right to be here right now," Fara explained.

_So this was another test of some kind,_ Jonathan thought as he stood up in the now empty tub, his legs feeling slightly weak. "Well, what has happened has happened," Jonathan sighed as he stepped out of the tub, "There is no changing the past, so we just have to move on now. I'm still not happy about what you did to me, though."

Fara frowned after Jonathan said this. "Did I not please you?" she asked.

Jonathan stammered at this. "Well, no, you did," he clarified, "But that's completely beside the point."

Fara already picked up on where Jonathan was going with this. "There's another girl in your life," she stated.

Jonathan hesitated at first, but then nodded his head in reply.

Fara nodded in turn and handed the purple robe over to Jonathan. "You can wear this in Queen Nabooru's presence," she stated, "It will cover you from your shoulders down to your feet. You'll also want to wear your boots, I would think."

"Thanks," Jonathan replied as he took the purple robe, "But what should I wear underneath it?"

"These," Fara answered as she gave Jonathan a white pair of shorts with a band of elastic around the top, "They should suit you better than that body suit you had on earlier."

Jonathan quickly took the shorts and put them on, covering his nakedness from Fara. "Thanks," Jonathan replied as he then took the robe and draped himself in it, making sure the robe completely covered his front, "The least you can do for me is get my other clothes washed for me."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Fara replied as she grabbed most of Jonathan's clothes, leaving behind his boots, his swords, and his shield, "I hope I haven't done anything to permanently traumatize you, Jonathan."

"I'm sure I'll get over it," Jonathan responded as he began to strap his boots on again, "But why did you have to do that to me? You said it was because you saw something you wanted, but I still don't understand what you meant by that."

"Jonathan, you are the best male warrior I have ever seen in my life," Fara explained, "Well, maybe except for Link, but you certainly can't be far behind him and he is no longer in this world."

Jonathan knew how the rest probably went. "So, as the best male around, you wanted my genes passed down to your daughter, is that right?" he asked.

Fara nodded. "That's the basic idea," she affirmed.

"So, does that mean you have conceived?" Jonathan inquired nervously.

"If not now, I will soon," Fara answered, "But don't worry about that. It is the Gerudo way for children to be raised by their mothers alone. I will not ask for your help, so you will be free to follow your own path, wherever that may lead to."

On the inside, Jonathan was greatly relieved by these words. He knew that he was not ready to raise a child yet. "But will you be able to raise your daughter on your own?" Jonathan asked as he began picking up his two swords.

Fara crossed her arms before responding, "I am twenty-four years old. I am more than ready to raise my daughter now. My mother, Jasmine, was nineteen when she conceived me, according to her."

_I can tell it's no use to talk about this any longer,_ Jonathan realized as he strapped the Master Sword to the right side of his hip, _And I don't want to anyway._ Jonathan decided to ask about the Gerudo leader. "What is Queen Nabooru like?" he asked.

"She is a firm leader, but she is fair," Fara replied, "I'll let you figure out the rest from the queen herself."

Jonathan nodded as he picked up his shield and realized that he couldn't hang the shield on the back of his new robe. He was going to have to carry it on one of his arms for now, so he slipped the straps on the back of the shield onto his left arm. "Alright then," Jonathan said, "Lets see Queen Nabooru."

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When Jonathan walked into the Gerudo royal chamber, he saw a Gerudo woman seated in a large stone throne at the far end of the room. A red carpet was laid out on the floor from the entrance to the chamber all the way to the foot of the throne. Jonathan couldn't tell how long the chamber was, but it was about twenty feet wide. Along the sides of the carpet, ten Gerudo prison guards stood guard, five on each side of the path and standing in pairs. Jonathan walked down the carpeted path, passing by the five pairs of prison guards before coming face-to-face with Queen Nabooru herself, who stood up from her throne to greet him. Standing, she was about 5-feet, 8-inches tall. Like the prison guards, her long red hair was done up in a simple ponytail. However, a large ruby stuck out of her hair where the ponytail began. A smaller ruby was on the center of her forehead, as part of a crown of sorts. On both earlobes hung long earrings made of metal and her lips were bright pink. She wore a metal necklace which was attached to a large ruby that hung above her breasts. Similar to the necklaces were bracelets Nabooru wore on her upper arms. Each of these had a small ruby encrusted into them. And on her lower arms and hands were long pink gloves that seemed purely decorative to Jonathan. Over her chest was just a band of cloth, strapped across her breasts tightly. It was white with a blue and red decorative pattern. She wore pink pants similar to the other Gerudo, with more decorative red and blue patterns appearing at the bottom of the pant legs. Like the other Gerudo, she wore no socks under her shoes, which were red and appeared to be made of wood instead of the think cloth that the other Gerudo shoes were made of. Like the other Gerudo, she had dark skin and gold colored eyes.

"Jonathan, I am Queen Nabooru of the Gerudo," Nabooru introduced herself as she bowed to Jonathan, "Welcome to our clan."

Jonathan bowed back to her. "Thank you, Your Highness," he replied.

Nabooru sat back down on her throne. "I have heard about your fighting prowess and abilities from Magne," she stated, "I must say, from what I've heard, you are the most skilled man I have ever seen since Link walked over the lands of Hyrule."

At this point, General Attula entered the royal chamber. "Ah, General Attula, it is good to see you again," Nabooru greeted as Jonathan turned around to find the general walking towards them.

"Good to see you too, Queen Nabooru," Attula replied as he stopped next to Jonathan, "But we have a little problem right now and we need to be going now."

"What is wrong?" Nabooru asked.

"Your husband is coming here now," Attula answered.

Immediately, a look of horror filled Nabooru's face. Jonathan turned towards Attula in a look of shock. "Are you sure?" Jonathan asked.

"As sure as the sun is in the sky," he replied quickly, "Jonathan and I must leave here now or else Ganondorf will surely have our heads."

"But why would he be coming here now?" Nabooru asked out loud, "Did he possibly learn of your journey here?"

Before anyone could say anything else, a woman's voice was heard. "Queen Nabooru! Queen Nabooru!" she screamed as Jonathan turned around to find another Gerudo prison guard running towards Nabooru in a dead sprint.

"Fara, what is wrong?" Nabooru asked.

Fara reached the throne, got down on one knee, and reported, "Queen Nabooru, I bring some disturbing news. Your daughter, Princess Chale, has been possessed!"

"What!?" Nabooru yelled in disbelief, disaster piling on top of disaster, "How do you know this?"

"Master Orizon told me this," Fara said as both Attula and Jonathan looked at her at the mention of the name, "He is with your daughter now, trying to save her body from complete possession. But he said he needs help."

"Take me to him," Jonathan demanded immediately, "I shall deal with this. General, you get yourself out of here before Ganondorf arrives."

"But what about when he arrives?" Attula asked, "What will you do then?"

"Link can handle Ganondorf," Jonathan replied confidently.

"Jonathan, follow me!" Fara shouted as she ran out of the royal chamber with Jonathan right behind her.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave on such short notice," Attula began apologizing to Nabooru, "But I indeed must be going now, before Ganondorf finds me here."

"Good luck, Attula," Nabooru wished as Attula turned and began running. He would make it back to the forest with Vaati without being seen by Ganondorf's forces. Jonathan would not be as lucky.

----------

"We're almost there!" Fara yelled as both she and Jonathan ran up another staircase, "Master Orizon was up here!"

Indeed, Jonathan could feel a familiar presence as he reached the top of the staircase. He grabbed his sword with his right hand and unsheathed it as he continued to follow Fara until she stopped at a doorway. "He was in this room," she said.

"Alright, let me handle this," Jonathan ordered, "I don't want to put you in trouble."

"You suddenly care about me," Fara teased.

"Just keep an eye out for Ganondorf," Jonathan asked, "I know he's going to be coming for me. Make sure I'll know when he's coming."

Fara nodded as Jonathan kicked the room's door wide open, sword and shield ready to go. Inside the small room lit only by torches, Jonathan saw a young Gerudo girl, no older than eleven, wearing a purple shirt, pants and shoes. However, her eyes were not gold like the other Gerudo's eyes were. Instead, they were glowing a bright red. Restraining her with one arm around her shoulders and holding his opposite hand over her mouth was a white-haired, red-eyed old man that Jonathan was all too familiar with. "Orizon," he began, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Jonathan, my boy," Orizon responded far too calmly, "I was hoping you would come here. I must say you fought very well earlier today. Very good stuff you got inside you."

Jonathan looked again at the girl. _Fara said that she was possessed,_ Jonathan remembered, _But she looks totally calm right now. Something isn't right about this._

"Ah yes, Princess Chale is indeed possessed," Orizon said, noticing where Jonathan's concern was, "And she may seem calm now, but that could change in a moment. Which is why I need your help, Jonathan."

Almost as if on cue, Chale began struggling with Orizon. The struggle quickly became very violent as Jonathan saw Chale bite Orizon's hand. In pain, Orizon loosened his hold on the girl, who quickly broke free of the Sheikah's grip. Immediately, she moved away from Orizon and moved towards Jonathan, her right hand behind her back.

"Jonathan, she has a knife! Look out!" Orizon cried.

Indeed, Jonathan suddenly saw Chale's right hand come out from behind her back, holding a rather large knife. She then swung the knife very quickly at Jonathan. Jonathan parried with his sword.

"Don't kill her, or else Ganondorf shall have your head, Jonathan," Orizon warned.

_Crap, he's right,_ Jonathan realized, _I'd better not hurt her._ He then used his shield and knocked Chale back a few feet. Jonathan now realized that Chale was much stronger than she should be, probably as a result of being possessed. "Then how do I deal with her?" Jonathan asked.

"Restrain her in some way," Orizon responded, "Then I can exorcize the demons within her."

Jonathan nodded as he looked back at Chale, who had fully recovered and was now running at him with the knife ready to strike. Jonathan noticed that there seemed to be no expression whatsoever on her face. _Yeah, she's definitely possessed,_ Jonathan concluded, _This is going to get ugly._

----------

"Make way for King Ganondorf!" a Gerudo guard yelled as she stepped aside from the entrance to the royal chamber. Almost immediately after, Ganondorf came into the room, walking quickly on the red carpet. His 6-foot-4 height dominated over all the other Gerudo in the room as he approached Queen Nabooru, who now stood from her throne.

"My Lord, what brings you here at this time?" she asked her husband.

"I heard that something strange was going on in the fortress," Ganondorf explained, "And I decided to check up on it myself. Is anything wrong?"

"Yes," Nabooru answered, "Chale has been possessed, according to Orizon."

"My daughter is possessed?" Ganondorf repeated, unable to believe what he had just heard, "This cannot be! It is not possible! Where is Orizon?"

"He is in the meditation chamber," she replied.

With that, Ganondorf began to run out of the royal chamber. _Something is not right here,_ he thought to himself, _I can sense something. I sense a power here comparable to my own. And it is not Orizon. Could there be a part of the Triforce here?_

----------

Jonathan avoided another attack from Chale, but felt something distressing in the back of his mind. As if something evil was approaching him now. _I ought to end this now,_ he thought as Chale came at him again with the knife. This time, Jonathan crouched down and used his shield to stop the blade. Dropping his own sword, he quickly grabbed Chale's right wrist and began to smash the hand that held the knife repeatedly against the hard surface of the Hylian Shield. After a few attempts, her grip on the knife finally failed and the knife fell to the floor. This having been done, Jonathan moved his right leg out and forced Chale to move towards it, causing her to fall forward onto her face. Immediately, he jumped on top of the possessed girl, holding her down by his own weight. Feeling her struggling, Jonathan exclaimed, "Orizon, if you are going to do something, do it now!" He could feel the evil presence was even closer now than it was before.

Orizon said nothing. Instead, he started to say a series of words Jonathan couldn't understand while his eyes were closed. Whatever he was doing, Chale began screaming in a voice that was far too masculine to be that of a little girl. Her struggle became more violent with each passing moment as Jonathan tried to find some way to grab the floor, not finding any way to.

"Your Majesty," Jonathan heard Fara's voice from the corridor outside the room, "Master Orizon is in here."

_Shit, Ganondorf is here,_ Jonathan understood, _If he sees me like this, I'm dead._

However, just after Fara's voice stopped, so did Chale's screaming and struggling. "It's over now, you can get off her," Orizon informed Jonathan. Jonathan was very willing to get up now.

"Will she be alright?" Jonathan asked the Sheikah as he looked down on Chale's motionless body.

"She should have a full recovery now," Orizon affirmed in a confident tone, "But I cannot believe what has happened here."

Before Jonathan could ask about that statement, or why Orizon was here in the first place, the door to the chamber opened quickly. "Orizon, what is going on?" he heard Ganondorf's voice ask, "Hey! Who are you!?"

"King Ganondorf, thank the Goddesses that you are here!" Orizon exclaimed as he ran over to the Gerudo king, "Your daughter had been possessed. If it weren't for Jonathan here, she would almost certainly have killed all your people."

"Jonathan?" Ganondorf said, a look of recognition spreading across his face, "Is that you again?"

Slowly, Jonathan turned around and faced the man who had tried to kill him and Princess Zelda three months ago. He was wearing his usual vestments that always made his look intimidating. And Jonathan was now certain that the evil presence he had felt was indeed Ganondorf._But I've never felt this before with him around,_ Jonathan thought, _Why do I feel his presence now?_

"Well, it seems that you have a knack for showing up in situations that spell your doom," Ganondorf said as he began to walk towards Jonathan.

Jonathan immediately remembered the Triforce mark on the back of his left hand at this moment. He brought the mark into Ganondorf's view. "You can't kill me, Ganondorf, I have the Triforce," he explained.

Ganondorf snickered and brought up his own left hand, showing a similar Triforce marking on the back of his glove. "So do I, Jonathan, so do I," he replied.

"King Ganondorf, don't you find your actions to be a little, for the lack of a better term, rude?" Orizon asked, "I mean, without Jonathan's help, I could not have exorcized the demons from inside your daughter's body. I think he deserves some sort of reward, don't you think?"

"He fights for Alazon and Zelda. He is my enemy," Ganondorf argued, "He had no business being here."

"I wish to go to the Spirit Temple," Jonathan proclaimed boldly.

Orizon's eyes suddenly went wide at the mention of the Spirit Temple. "Your Highness, I just remembered something I need to tell you," he stated quickly, "While your daughter was possessed, I found out what had possessed her."

"Who was it?" Ganondorf asked.

"Twinrova," Orizon answered simply.

Ganondorf immediately turned towards Orizon with a look of disbelief on his face. "No, that is not possible," he said, "Twinrova has been one of my most loyal followers since the beginning. Why would Kotake and Koume do something like this to me?"

"Perhaps they want to rule Hyrule for themselves," Orizon replied, "Remember, they were not on our side during the War of Chaos."

Ganondorf paused for a few seconds. "Are you sure about this?" he finally asked his former mentor.

"I am absolutely certain of this," Orizon replied, "I felt their presence in Princess Chale's body. And ever since Agahnim and I defeated Twinrova years ago, I have remembered what that presence feels like."

Ganondorf thought about these things again. "Jonathan, you said you wanted to go to the Spirit Temple, correct?" he finally asked Jonathan.

"Yes, I do," Jonathan replied. _Please don't ask me why,_ he begged inside.

"Then I will allow you to go there under one condition," Ganondorf replied, "You must destroy Kotake and Koume, who have betrayed me. No one crosses me and lives to tell the tale."

"How will I know who Kotake and Koume are?" Jonathan inquired.

"They are two old hags, that's all you need to know about them," Orizon answered with a tone of contempt and anger in his voice.

"And how will I find my way across the Haunted Wasteland?" Jonathan asked.

Ganondorf thought about this one. "My daughter knows the way there like the back of her hand," he replied, "As long as you get her back here alive, she can help you. But if you don't protect her, I shall have your head."

Jonathan nodded as he heard something from behind him. Turning around he saw Chale getting up off the floor. Her eyes were now back to their normal golden color. She turned and looked at the three men in the room. "Father?" she asked as she walked towards Ganondorf.

"Chale, I am glad to see you are okay," Ganondorf replied as he picked his daughter up off the ground and hugged her.

_Perhaps there is still a little humanity left in him,_ Jonathan thought, _Perhaps he can still redeem himself._

"Jonathan, we must hold a feast tonight in your honor and for your good luck in your endeavor tomorrow in the Spirit Temple," Ganondorf announced as he set his daughter back on the ground, "I insist that you be present."

And with that, Ganondorf turned around and left the chamber with Chale following right behind him, half-running to keep up with her father's long stride. Without another word, Orizon also left the room.

"Well, that turned out better than I could ever have hoped," Jonathan said quietly as he too left the room.

----------

"So let me get this straight," Princess Zelda began, "You left Jonathan inside the Gerudo Fortress at Ganondorf's mercy?"

"I had no choice," General Attula replied as both looked at each other in Zelda's courtyard area, "And remember that Jonathan does have the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage. For Ganondorf to attack him now would be absolutely futile. Plus Orizon is there, so he must be in control of this whole situation. I would not worry about his well-being."

"Still, I can't help but be concerned for his safety," Zelda stated as she looked away from Attula.

_I think she does love him,_ Attula thought. "Why don't you go and make sure of his safety?" he teased.

"Not with Ganondorf around," Zelda replied, "But I know just the person to send to make sure he's alright."

With that, she climbed up a ladder that led to the upper landing of the courtyard and entered her room. General Attula chuckled as he left the courtyard.

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Author's Notes: And that's it for now.I really don't have much to say about this chapter.

New chapter next week. In the meantime, read and review please.


	20. Chapter 19: Sheik and the Sheikah Gerudo

Author's Notes: Thanks to all of the readers out there who read my story in the past week, and especially those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Yes, the enemies are going to share a feast. And it will be a civilized affair. And you'll just have to wait and see what happens. Thanks for your support.

bluenavydragon: It isn't strange at all that Ganondorf is somewhat humane. I am not a fan at all of pure good or pure evil when it comes to individuals. Any hero can become a villain and any villain can become a hero. We all have the capacity to commit both good and evil things. As for the thing about how this changes Jonathan's mission to eventually destroy Ganondorf, I never really gave that much thought to be honest. But now that I think about it, it wouldn't change anything between Link and Ganondorf. And in the end, when it will come to blows, Jonathan would probably say, "Nothing personal, Ganondorf, but you have to die for Hyrule's sake." Plus none of the other Gerudo have any respect for him now. And Orizon is a cunning man. And he does have a past history with Ganondorf, which will be explained a little in this chapter. Chapter 27 is when more of it will be revealed. It has already been stated that Ganondorf and Orizon fought with King Alazon in the War of Chaos (what I have called that war which was fought before Link was born if you are familiar with the Ocarina of Time storyline). And no, it's not Impa who will show up, but you are close. Thanks for the support and the questions. Keep those coming.

Kanamay: Thanks for reading this story of mine. As to why Ganondorf doesn't kill Jonathan on the spot, let me point out that this is only the third time that Ganondorf and Jonathan have met face-to-face, and both of the previous meetings didn't last very long. So Ganondorf doesn't recognize who Jonathan is immediately. And because of that, the second reason is that Ganondorf probably thinks he can attempt to manipulate Jonathan into doing his bidding. Of course, we all know that just won't be happening, but Ganondorf doesn't see the whole story. And lastly, Ganondorf finds it more convenient to send Jonathan out to the Spirit Temple to take care of things there than to do it himself. Remember, Ganondorf is in control of Hyrule at this time.

Infernal Flame Zero: Like I said about bluenavydragon's review, I am not a fan of the notion of pure good and pure evil when it comes to people. Ganondorf has the capacity to do both, though he's usually doing evil. Actually, in a later chapter, you'll see that Ganondorf (at least in my version of events) was a very different individual when he was younger. Thanks for your support.

And now, on with the story.

**Chapter 19: Sheik and the Sheikah-Gerudo Clan War**

"You have got to be kidding me," Velai responded to Fara's claim, "That big?"

"You'd better believe it," Fara replied with a smile on her face, "I don't think Hyrule has ever seen a man like him before."

"I bet you enjoyed every minute of what you did to him," Junoti accused.

"I guess I'm guilty as charged," Fara answered with a smile.

"What the hell is going on here?" Magne's voice rang out over the three other Gerudo prison guards, "You're supposed to be helping to set this place up for tonight's feast. Don't you dare tell me you're taking a break already."

"Oh, we were just talking about today's events," Fara told Magne casually, "Magne, do you wish to know a little more about the newest Gerudo? Something you may find very interesting, I think."

"What information would that be?" Magne asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was still not happy with Fara.

"He is quite a man in more ways than one," Fara replied as she brought her hands up and held her palms about eight inches away from each other, "If you know what I mean."

Magne thought about what Fara had just said and done for a moment, then a wave of disgust ran through her entire being. "Fara, you disgust me," she stated, "First you terrorize a fellow Gerudo, and now you are bragging about it? You disgust me."

"Trust me Magne," Fara replied, "He enjoyed it as much as I did. I could tell by the expression of his face. And he said as much afterwards."

"That's completely beside the point!" Magne half-yelled, losing her patience, "What if it was the other way around? What if Jonathan forced himself on you? What would happen after that?"

Fara paused. That was something she hadn't thought about before now. "Well, if I told you, you'd probably be trying to kill him," Fara replied slowly, "But that's not what happened."

"Fara, give me one good reason why I shouldn't take your head because of what you did to Jonathan," Magne demanded seriously, glaring straight at Fara.

This was a turn neither Fara nor her two companions expected. Velai and Junoti tensed up, ready to stop any sort of scuffle. "Please Magne, stop this now," Junoti begged.

"Have you spoken with Jonathan about this yet?" Fara asked, trying to find a way out of this situation. She felt that Magne wasn't serious in her threat, but any Gerudo threat had to be treated as if it were a guarantee.

"No, I have not," Magne answered, "But if he tells me to, I'll have no choice but to carry out the rules of our people." And with that she stormed out of the room and began to look for Jonathan.

"You don't think Jonathan will want you to suffer because of this, do you?" Velai asked with concern.

"I do not believe so," Fara replied with certainty in her voice, "He did not seem to be a bitter person to me. I'm pretty sure he's put this whole thing behind him now."

"I hope you're right," Junoti responded as the three went back to work for the feast.

----------

Jonathan had changed his clothing since his encounter with Orizon and Ganondorf. He now wore a white robe instead of a purple one in an effort to keep cool in the desert heat. _I should have brought my Goron's Tunic here,_ he thought to himself as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The new robe helped him a little, but it was not a very noticeable difference. _At least it's just a dry heat, and not a humid heat,_ Jonathan rationalized.

Jonathan was in the middle of the archery range behind the Gerudo Fortress. He had been practicing his aim with his bow, which he had been able to convert from a simple bow into a reflex bow over the past three months. He was still getting used to the added power of his weapon at this time, but he was very happy with the way it had come out.

As Jonathan pulled another arrow out of his quiver, he caught sight of a Gerudo prison guard approaching him from the entrance to the archery area. "Jonathan, we need to talk," he heard Magne's voice say.

"Sure thing Magne," Jonathan replied as he strung an arrow onto his bowstring and pulled back and aimed at the target about fifteen yards away from him. He let loose the arrow and sent it into the target about five inches above dead center.

"Nice shot," Magne complimented, then looked back at Jonathan and noticed the shape of the bow, "What in the world is that?"

"The bow?" Jonathan asked, "This is a reflex bow. I made it out of an ordinary bow I had for a while."

"You are quite skilled with a bow as well as the sword," Magne said, "Or are you just naturally lucky?"

"Well, I have to thank Impa for my sword skills, but archery was always a little hobby of mine since I was a child," Jonathan explained, "I never knew it would become a life saving skill."

"You learned how to fire a bow with no intent of fighting with it?" Magne asked.

"Well, the people from my world don't really use the bow and arrow in warfare anymore," Jonathan explained, "At least where I come from, it's mostly just used for hunting now."

_What kind of weapon could possibly replace the usefulness of the bow and arrow in battle?_ Magne wondered to herself. "I've never seen a bow designed like this before," she informed Jonathan, "What makes this design special?"

"Well, let me show you what happens when you unstring it," Jonathan said as he unstrung the bow. The moment he relaxed his grip on the end of it, the bow reversed its curve and looked like a regular bow without its bowstring and with the bowstring notches on the wrong side on the ends.

Magne was perplexed by this. "Well, what does that accomplish?" she asked.

"Well, the curves of the reflex bow adds to the force behind which an arrow is fired from it," Jonathan explained as he strung the bow once again, "This allows the arrow to fly faster without adding to the draw weight or the mass of the bow. Something about the tension in the bow itself or something, I'm not exactly sure how it works. Personally, I would like to use a compound reflex bow."

"Compound?" Magne inquired.

"It's a bow design that uses special small wheels called pulleys," Jonathan explained, "The pulleys are placed at the ends of the bow. They are strung together in a way that reduces the amount of force you need to apply to the bowstring to fire the arrow. The compound bow delivers much better range, velocity, and accuracy than a simple bow of the same size because of its design. However, I haven't found any materials here on Hyrule yet to create a good compound bow. Back on my world, they were usually made out of man-made materials. Also, if you fire a regular wooden arrow shaft out of a compound bow, it can splinter from the force of the bowstring when it's fired. Therefore, I am quite satisfied with this for now."

"An impressive design," Magne commented, "I may have to get our craftsmen to design such a weapon."

"Magne, there was something you wanted to talk to me about?" Jonathan stated as he fitted another arrow into his bow and fired it at the target.

Just as Magne was about to reply, the two heard a commotion from a distance away. "Hey you! What are you doing here?" a Gerudo guard yelled.

Immediately, Jonathan and Magne ran down into the open and Jonathan grabbed another arrow from his quiver and put it on his bowstring, ready to fire on an enemy. As Jonathan walked into the open part of the area, he saw several Gerudo with their weapons in a position of attack against a single individual who was wearing a form-fitting suit that was mostly blue in color. His forearms were wrapped over in white bandages, as was the top of his head. Over his mouth and nose, the young man had a white cloth that hid those features. The only feature on his face Jonathan could make out were his blood red eyes, blonde hair, and skin not as dark as a Gerudo's but much darker than Jonathan's. Over his torso, the stranger had a white cloth with a blue pattern on it. There was also a red symbol on the cloth of an eye with three triangles above it and a single, large teardrop below. Jonathan recognized the symbol immediately.

"That's a Sheikah," Jonathan realized.

"Yes, I know," Magne muttered through gritted teeth.

Jonathan looked briefly at Magne. _She looks really pissed right now,_ he thought, _Why is that?_

"I am looking for Jonathan," the Sheikah declared.

"Jonathan is one of us now," one of the Gerudo guards responded as Jonathan approached the young man, "And has no business with one of your kind."

"Wait a second," Jonathan said as he walked in front of the Gerudo and got a better look at the Sheikah. He saw that up close, the young man had well-defined chest muscles to go along with his lean, athletic build. He was a little shorter than Jonathan, being about 5-feet, 7-inches tall. "Who are you and who sent you here?" he asked.

"My name is Sheik," the stranger replied, "And Princess Zelda sent me to see if you were okay."

Jonathan turned to face the other Gerudo. "Don't worry about this man, he's on my side," Jonathan informed the other Gerudo.

However, none of the Gerudo backed off. "He is a Sheikah, and his kind are not welcomed here," one of the guards informed.

Jonathan looked around, perplexed at the actions of the Gerudo. "It's alright, he's on my side," Jonathan explained once again with extra emphasis, "He means no harm to me or to any of you."

"Stand down everyone," Magne ordered suddenly, "I believe Jonathan is telling the truth."

Grudgingly, the Gerudo backed off from Jonathan and Sheik as they walked toward Magne and followed her back into the archery range where Jonathan had been before Sheik's arrival.

"I'm sorry for any trouble I just caused," Sheik apologized, "But Princess Zelda sent me to make sure Jonathan was alright."

"I see," Magne replied, "I believe I've heard of you before, Sheik. You helped Link defeat Ganondorf and seal him into the Sacred Realm four years ago."

Sheik nodded. "That is true," he replied.

"For now, though, I think it would be best if you stayed hidden in this area," Magne suggested, referring to the archery area, "My people don't drop grudges easily."

Sheik nodded again. Jonathan thought there was something odd about Sheik. The first thing that caught his attention was that although Sheik was obviously a Sheikah, his ears were only as long as a Hylian's. And his voice, though masculine, was odd in a certain way that Jonathan could not put a finger on. And from what Jonathan could see of his facial features, Sheik seemed like a familiar face.

"Have we met before?" Jonathan inquired.

"I don't think you have ever seen me before," Sheik answered.

Jonathan decided to attribute his feelings of familiarity to deja vu for now. "Okay now, Magne," Jonathan said as he turned back to the Gerudo, "You were trying to tell me something, right?"

"Yes, about what happened earlier today between you and Fara," Magne affirmed, "I need to know if she really forced herself onto you."

Sheik glanced quickly at Jonathan. "Yeah, she did," Jonathan replied defensively, naturally not wanting to talk about his intimate encounters with people he was unfamiliar with, "What about it?"

"Well, we Gerudo have a code of conduct," Magne explained, "If you wanted to, I could have Fara punished for violating you, a fellow Gerudo, as she did. The choice is yours as to whether this punishment occurs or not."

"No, don't punish her," Jonathan replied immediately, "I don't want that to happen."

"Are you sure about that?" Magne inquired. When she received a nod from Jonathan for an answer, she continued, "Then I will see you later tonight. Oh, and Sheik may not come to tonight's feast. It would not be a good idea."

"I understand," Sheik replied as Magne turned away and left the area.

"A Gerudo forced herself on you?" Sheik asked Jonathan once they were alone.

"Yeah, I had no way out of the situation," Jonathan explained, "She pinned me in the bottom of a bathtub."

"I see," Sheik replied after a short pause, "Have you been able to find a way to the Desert Colossus?"

"Ganondorf has actually ordered me to go to the Spirit Temple tomorrow to destroy Twinrova," Jonathan responded.

"Twinrova is on Ganondorf's side," Sheik replied, "Why would he want you to destroy them?"

"Because they possessed his daughter, Princess Chale, earlier today," Jonathan explained, "At least that is what Orizon told me."

Sheik did not respond immediately to this. When he did speak again, it was about a different subject. "How are you going to find your way through the Haunted Wasteland?" he asked.

"Princess Chale will be accompanying me on the journey to the Spirit Temple," Jonathan informed, "Once she gets me there, I'm going to find some place safe for her to stay until my work in the Spirit Temple is done. And then I'll get her back across the desert."

"There is a Great Fairy's Fountain just outside the temple," Sheik informed, "I'm very sure you can leave her there. But just in case something goes wrong, I'll travel with you two tomorrow."

"As long as you can hold your own, that's fine by me," Jonathan agreed, "And seeing that you helped defeat Ganondorf once already, I think you can do that."

"Princess Chale may not trust me, though," Sheik said.

"Why wouldn't she?" Jonathan inquired.

Sheik looked at Jonathan directly. "Didn't you notice how the Gerudo acted around me?" Sheik asked Jonathan.

"They seemed to be really defensive, more than they usually are," Jonathan realized, "Why was that?"

"I'm sure you can get a good answer about that out of Ganondorf later tonight," Sheik answered, "Just make sure you don't tell him that I am here. He'll hunt me down if he knows I'm anywhere close by."

Jonathan nodded. "I'll remember that," he said, "I'd better leave you alone, then, before Ganondorf comes looking for me again. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"I shall remain here," Sheik stated as Jonathan walked back out into the main area of the Gerudo Fortress.

----------

The desert was much cooler at night, since there were rarely any clouds in the sky to keep the heat of the day down over the ground. Jonathan was taken by surprise by this rapid change in temperature and found himself occasionally shivering from time to time before the feast began.

The feast itself took place in a large room at one of the highest points of the Gerudo Fortress. The room had an opening which led to a large outdoor balcony that more than 10 people could stand on at the same time comfortably. There was also a door on the other end of the room through which the eighteen Gerudo already in the room had entered from. The room was well lit by the torches hanging on the walls and in the middle of the room was a long table covered with various types of foods. The table had 21 seats around it. There were ten on each of the long sides and a single seat at the head of the table. That seat, of course, was reserved for Ganondorf. The two seats on the left and right of Ganondorf's seat were also reserved for Jonathan and Queen Nabooru respectively. Magne had seated herself in the seat next to where Jonathan would be sitting to make sure nothing went wrong tonight. Fara was also present at the feast, but she sat farther down the table, flanked on either her sides by Velai and Junoti. _Still talking about Jonathan, no doubt,_ Magne thought in disgust, though Magne certainly couldn't blame her. It wasn't every day that a man like Jonathan entered the fortress.

Suddenly, the door that led into the room opened. All the Gerudo in the room stood up from their seats as Jonathan walked into the room, still wearing his white robe from earlier. He stood behind his chair next to Magne as Queen Nabooru entered the room behind him, wearing her usual garments as she walked to her chair on the opposite side of the table from Jonathan. Both looked toward the door as King Ganondorf, also wearing his regular clothing, entered the room and stood behind his chair at the head of the table. "You have been gathered here tonight to celebrate the success of Jonathan becoming one of us, as well as he saving my daughter, Chale," Ganondorf announced, "Let us be seated and feast." With that, all the Gerudo took their seats and began to eat.

----------

Orizon was not interested in going to the feast that night, and he had told Ganondorf as much earlier in the day. Instead, he was on a rooftop on the opposite side of the fortress as where the feast was going on. Orizon did not like the desert at all, for it brought many sad memories of his past to mind. Before the War of Chaos began, Orizon had taken it upon himself to train the most talented young Sheikah he could find in the ways of using magic power most effectively. When the war began, Orizon had fifteen apprentices, all very skilled and with great potential. Orizon was confident that he and his followers would make it through the conflict more or less intact.

However, his confidence ended up nearly shattering him as, one by one, his followers were killed in action. The most crushing blow was the disappearance of his most skilled pupil, named Agahnim. Three years into the war, Ganondorf reported to King Alazon that an evil force was infesting the Spirit Temple. Alazon asked Orizon to check out the reports. Having already lost seven of his apprentices so far in battle, he decided to accompany Agahnim to the Spirit Temple.

Once inside, Orizon let Agahnim take the lead and proceeded with very few problems until they reached a chamber deep inside the temple. There, they found a portal to what would be called the Demon World, from which evil imps and all other manners of foul creatures were flooding Hyrule from. Orizon and Agahnim both recognized what the portal was and Orizon tried to seal it with his magic. However, he failed and then Agahnim tried to seal it. Although Agahnim was successful in sealing the portal, it had come at great cost to his own health.

The sealing of that portal was the turning point of the War of Chaos. Before that event, the evil creatures from the Demon World just kept coming into Hyrule in what seemed like endless numbers. But once that portal was sealed, the numbers of creatures began to drop off dramatically. After the mission had been completed, Agahnim told Orizon that he would keep watch over the Spirit Temple until the war ended. It was the last time Orizon saw the most powerful Sheikah he had ever encountered; he never saw Agahnim again. And by the time the war was over, only two of his original fifteen followers were still alive; twelve had been killed and Agahnim was proclaimed missing, for his body was never found.

Orizon couldn't help but look toward the west from where he was standing. Past the vast wasteland was the Desert Colossus, where Agahnim had won the war 24 years ago.

----------

"So Jonathan, is there anything you'd like to know about us?" Ganondorf asked his guest of honor after about an hour of feasting.

_How do I ask about the Sheikah without giving Sheik away?_ Jonathan thought to himself for a moment. "Well," Jonathan began to ask, "I've heard some stories about the Gerudo from the Sheikah, and they don't seem to like you all that much."

Ganondorf chuckled with his deep voice. "You're wondering why that is, are you?" he asked.

"Basically, yeah," Jonathan replied.

"Well, the reason why the Gerudo and the Sheikah are not too friendly with one another is because of an event that happened many centuries ago," Ganondorf started, "A long time ago, the Hylians and the Sheikah did not inhabit this land, which was known by a name that has been lost to the sands of time. Back then, the Zoras, the Gorons, the Kokiri, the Deku, the Horonians, and the Gerudo were the only sentient races who called this land their home. And, for the most part, we got along just fine with each other. But then, a long time ago, two new sentient races came to the land. They called themselves the Hylians and the Sheikah.

"We encountered the Sheikah first, and there was, of course, a certain level of distrust between the two groups, as we also felt when we first met the Hylians. But the Hylians soon proved themselves to be a trustworthy people. The Sheikah, on the other hand, were very mysterious and never really proved anything to us. In time, this lack of trust would prove to have tragic consequences for both races.

"No one is quite sure how it started or who really struck first, but a war between the Gerudo and the Sheikah began when the Sheikah raided a Gerudo outpost, and then claimed that the captured women were planning to overthrow the king of Hyrule. Then a small group of Gerudo stormed the prison where the Sheikah were holding their prisoners at the time. During this raid, a Sheikah guard was killed."

Jonathan knew how the rest went. "And then the Sheikah struck back in revenge, and then you did the same, and the cycle kept repeating over and over again," Jonathan said.

"More or less that is correct," Ganondorf affirmed, "This clan war lasted for several years and drove both the Gerudo and the Sheikah to the brink of extinction when the old king of Hyrule, who was completely inept by this time and had no idea what to do, died and his daughter assumed the throne. In her first act as ruler of this land, Queen Zelda the Wise brought together both sides and helped bring peace between our peoples. However, a deep hatred still exists with many Gerudo toward the Sheikah."

"I can understand why," Jonathan replied, drawing upon the knowledge he had of human history, "In my world, we have suffered similar wars throughout our history. Many of them became quite ugly and bloody."

"You mean your people didn't learn a lesson from their first such war?" Magne asked incredulously.

"My race has a strange tendency to forget the lessons of the past," Jonathan answered after he looked at Magne, "We seem to think that we are more clever than those who came before us and that what happened to them cannot happen to us. And the fact that some of the most famous leaders of my world have been insane maniacs doesn't help us, either."

"I would think not," Queen Nabooru commented, refraining from glancing at the man who sat right next to her.

"By the way, you said that the name of the queen who stopped this conflict was Zelda," Jonathan said, "Is that an important name to the Hylians?"

"You mean you have never heard of the legend of Princess Zelda?" Nabooru asked Jonathan.

Jonathan shook his head. "I guess I missed that one," he replied, "I've only been in this world for about four months."

"Well, a very long time ago, perhaps many thousands of years ago," Nabooru began, "In a different land from this one, the Hylians once lived. And just as today, they were ruled by the royal family, the same one that once ruled this Hyrule. Once there was a great and kind king who had two children. All peoples of the land loved him and were shocked and dismayed when he died at the age of 45, leaving behind his son and daughter.

"The prince was the elder of the two children, and so he was to inherit all that his father had. At the age of twenty, he was to become the king of Hyrule and was to inherit the Triforce. However, his father had made it so that his son could only inherit a part of the Triforce. No matter how hard he searched, the new king could not find the rest of the Triforce. But then, a sorcerer who was a friend of the new king brought him some unexpected news.

"According to the sorcerer, before the elder king had died, he told his daughter, named Zelda, something about Triforce. He told Zelda alone this secret. Upon hearing this, the new king immediately went to his sister and questioned her about this secret of the Triforce. However, Princess Zelda spoke not a word to him, no matter how much he threatened her or begged to her. The sorcerer then tried to obtain the secret, but still the princess said nothing. Finally, he threatened to curse Zelda to sleep forever, for if she did not tell the secret, no one would ever find the Triforce and awaken her. And yet, knowing this and knowing that what the sorcerer had told her was not an idle threat, Princess Zelda still said nothing.

"The sorcerer made good on his word, and began chanting the Curse of Eternal Sleep upon the princess. Startled by this turn of events, the king ordered the sorcerer to stop, but he did not. The king even tried to subdue the sorcerer, but his attempts were in vain as he was thrown to the ground by the older man as he continued his chant. Finally, the chant ended, and Princess Zelda fell down on the floor upon which she was standing and entered an eternal slumber. The sorcerer also entered a sleep, but of a much different kind. Upon completing the spell, he collapsed, breathed his last breath, and died. When the king came to, he saw what his greed had caused and wept for his lost sister, who was not even sixteen years old. To make sure that this tragedy was never forgotten, the king decreed that from then on, every female born into the royal family of Hyrule would be named Zelda."

"And that's the legend of Princess Zelda?" Jonathan asked.

"More or less," Nabooru responded, "Of course, no one really knows if the story actually happened or not. Personally, I don't believe those events actually took place, but every woman born into the Hylian Royal Family in living memory has been named Zelda. I don't believe it because the Triforce itself was completely whole only a few years ago."

"But there's always some truth behind every legend," Jonathan pointed out, "The thing is there is an old story from my world that is very similar to this one about Princess Zelda. It's called the tale of Sleeping Beauty."

"Why don't you tell us this tale?" Magne requested.

"Well, alright," Jonathan replied, "This isn't a true story in any way, by the way."

----------

"What do you think of your newest ally?" Orizon asked Ganondorf as the latter approached him from behind after the feast had ended.

Ganondorf wasn't surprised that Orizon knew he was there now. "He's an interesting young man, but once Twinrova is dead, he will be my enemy," he replied, "He will not abandon Alazon for me. I want you to stay here and keep an eye on his activities. Report anything suspicious to me."

"Ganondorf, you know I have no wish to stay here any longer," Orizon begged, "You stay here and I'll attend to matters at the castle for now."

"I am sorry, Orizon, but these matters require my personal attention," Ganondorf responded, "I know this place brings bad memories to your mind, but I have bad memories from the war as well. We have mourned for the dead already."

"It's not the dead I mourn for now," Orizon corrected, "It's the one that never came home; the one who was never found. Agahnim was like the son I never had. He was as close to me as either of my daughters, if not closer than that. He was the most powerful individual I have ever met. I would just like some closure on his story."

"Do you think Jonathan will be able to defeat Twinrova?" Ganondorf asked.

"If not, he's got someone else to help him do it, someone who has already defeated Twinrova before," Orizon replied as he looked toward the balcony that Jonathan was now standing on.

----------

Jonathan gazed up at the night sky and tried to count how many stars he could see. He wondered which one of them had Earth orbiting around it, or if he could even see which star was the one he once circled around. Quickly realizing his efforts to be futile, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Jonathan, what did you think of the feast?" he heard Magne ask him as she walked up next to him.

"It was fit for a king," Jonathan replied with a smile, "Of course, your king was there, so it should have been."

Magne chuckled as well. "I'm glad to hear you liked it," she stated, "And I wish you good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks," Jonathan said as he looked westward, "That way to the Spirit Temple, right?"

"That is correct," Magne confirmed, "You're going to want to make sure you completely cover your skin with clothing so that the desert sand doesn't get stunk in your skin. If it does, it will cause a terrible rash that will stay there for days."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jonathan replied as he looked down onto the grounds of the Gerudo Fortress and saw Ganondorf's figure ride away on his steed, "It looks like Ganondorf is leaving."

"Good," Magne responded with contempt in her voice.

"Well, I guess I'd better get some sleep for tomorrow's big adventure," Jonathan stated as he began walking back toward the feasting room, "Oh, and Magne?"

"Yes Jonathan?" Magne inquired as she turned toward Jonathan.

"Could you have someone trustworthy guard my bedroom door? I saw Velai and Junoti whispering to each other during the feast and I got a bad feeling about it," Jonathan requested.

"I'll have Hinay guard your door," Magne answered.

"Thanks," Jonathan replied as he walked into the corridor where his lodgings were. Even if he didn't have feelings for Zelda, he knew he probably wouldn't have the strength to get out of bed to journey anywhere tomorrow morning if he had two Gerudo visit him during the night.

----------

Author's Notes: To all the Zelda fans out there, please do not give away any big spoilers, please. The story will reveal those when the time is right.

The Sheikah-Gerudo Clan War is something I made up. In hindsight, I don't know why I decided that the Gerudo need to hate the Sheikah as a whole, but I'm keeping it in here. And the story of the Legend of Zelda is from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which is often considered the "black sheep" of the Zelda series.

This chapter also lays down a lot of background for Dark Apprentice. It is enough to say that the name of Orizon's most beloved pupil is familiar for a good reason.

New chapter next Friday. Until then, read and review everyone.


	21. Chapter 20: Through the Desert

Author's Notes: Once again, a big thanks to those of you who read my story in the past week, and especially to those of you who submitted a review.

bluenavydragon: In my timeline, the events of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link occur long after the events of Ocarina of Time. And I will say again that my use of the name Agahnim is not a coincidence. You'll probably have to wait until 2009 to see what that means, though. And if you have beaten Ocarina of Time, you'll know exactly who Sheik is. But if not, you'll learn before the story is over. Thanks for your support.

Kanamay: Don't worry, the story is, for all intents and purposes, finished. I just need to put the finishing touches on the last few chapters. Thanks for your support. And it is my intention to continue writing.

SPark681: Sorry, but the Spirit Temple won't begin in earnest until the chapter after this one. Thanks for your support.

Infernal Flame Zero: Yes, that is the Zelda legend. One interesting thing I'd like to point out. The only Zelda game which explains why all the Hylian princesses are named Zelda is the only one not titled "The Legend of Zelda." Take what you will from that. Thanks for the support.

And to all the others, thank you for pushing this story to over 2,000 hits! Great job everyone!

And now, time for another chapter.

**Chapter 20: Through the Desert**

Shortly after dawn on the next morning, Jonathan walked out onto the main grounds of the Gerudo Fortress. Once again, he was wearing his Kokiri Tunic with his full body undergarment in order to shield his skin from the elements. He was also wearing a pair of leather gloves on his hands under his gauntlets and had a white scarf wrapped around his head, covering his hair and neck, along with most of his face. As he approached the place next to a wooden gate where he saw Princess Chale standing, he suddenly realized something. _How am I going to protect my eyes?_ he thought to himself suddenly.

"Jonathan, where are your goggles?" Chale asked him when she saw he didn't have a pair on, thinking along the same lines that he was.

"I don't know where to find any," Jonathan replied, "Do you know where I can find them?"

"Don't worry, I'll get them for you," Chale said as she ran back to the Gerudo Fortress. Jonathan watched as the 11-year-old Gerudo princess disappeared inside the building.

As Jonathan looked toward the right, he saw another individual approaching him. It was Sheik, but Jonathan could only recognize him by his clothing. He was also wearing leather gloves and had his face completely covered except for his eyes, which were covered by a pair of goggles.

"Sheik, are you ready to go through the desert?" Jonathan asked his Sheikah partner.

"I am, but you obviously are not," Sheik answered, "Where are your goggles?"

At this point, Jonathan was getting tired of that question. "Chale is getting some for me," he replied, "Where did you get yours?"

"Magne got them for me," Sheik stated, "By the way, do you know how to keep yourself from sinking into the sands of the Haunted Wasteland?"

"Why don't you tell me how?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, from what Princess Zelda told me, she helped you through the Water Temple a while back, correct?" Sheik inquired.

"Yeah, that's right," Jonathan answered, "She did something that made my feet feel really heavy. It allowed me to sink down through the water and stand up when I was on the ground under water."

"Well, I believe you can do that to yourself now," Sheik stated, "All you have to do is will your mind to make your feet heavy and it should work."

Jonathan nodded and then focused his mind, doing as Sheik had told him to do. It didn't take long until Jonathan felt himself change in a small way. He attempted to move his right foot, but it was as if his feet had suddenly turned into lead and were now weighing him down.

"Yes, very good," Sheik said, "Now, if you do the opposite, if you will your mind to make your feet light, you will be able to walk over the loose sands of the Haunted Wasteland without sinking."

"Alright," Jonathan replied as he focused his mind again. Within a few moments, Jonathan felt another change in his body and moved his right foot again. This time, however, his feet felt lighter than normal. "How long does this effect last for?" Jonathan asked.

"Your feet will be light now until you will them to be normal or heavy," Sheik answered, "Also, when your feet are light, you'll be able to hover in midair for a short amount of time. Try to keep that in mind."

Jonathan nodded again as he saw Chale come outside again and ran toward him. Most of her body, all four feet and six inches of it, was covered in purple. Both of her hands were covered with leather gloves as well, and in her left hand she carried a set of goggles, the lenses of which were made of glass. "Thank you very much, Chale," Jonathan thanked.

"No problem," Chale replied as she handed Jonathan the goggles. As Jonathan began taking off his turban, Chale looked toward her left and suddenly saw Sheik. "What is he doing here?" Chale asked defensively as she backed away from the Sheikah.

"Don't worry, he's on my side," Jonathan replied as he began to put the goggles on his head, "I should have told you we would have company before now. Sorry about that."

"I don't trust him," Chale responded forcefully. Sheik simply looked away from the young Gerudo.

Jonathan finished getting the goggles on his eyes and began to wrap the white cloth around his head again. "Chale, do you trust me?" he inquired.

"Of course I trust you," Chale answered instantly, "You are a Gerudo and we always trust each other."

"Then why don't you trust the people I trust?" Jonathan asked as he finished wrapping his head. When he saw that Chale had no answer, Jonathan continued, "Chale, I need your help to get to the Spirit Temple. While I'm in there, Sheik here will look after you and keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself," Chale replied defiantly.

"Maybe, but I want to be safe," Jonathan said, "Because if you get harmed, your father will kill me."

"Come, let us get going before the day gets too hot," Sheik interrupted, "Jonathan, have someone open the gate here."

Jonathan nodded as he turned toward the Gerudo standing next to the gate who was wearing white pants and no veil over her face. "Open the gate, please," Jonathan asked.

The guard nodded as she pulled a lever mounted on the wall next to the gate. Upon pulling that lever, the gate rose into the air, opening the way into the Haunted Wasteland. "I will only keep it open until sundown," the guard informed Jonathan, "If you aren't back by then, you'd better be ready to spend a night exposed to the elements."

"Don't worry, we'll be back before then," Jonathan assured as Chale led him and Sheik into the Haunted Wasteland.

----------

Staying in the highest part of the Gerudo Fortress, Orizon finally felt the presence of the Triforce fade and disappear. _So Jonathan has started toward the Spirit Temple,_ he thought to himself as he smiled, _Perfect._

----------

Not long after Jonathan and the others had entered the Haunted Wasteland, they walked straight into what seemed to be a wall of sand. Once inside the storm, Jonathan could barely see what was ten feet in front of him, which included Chale. Suddenly, a disturbing thought filled Jonathan's entire mind. _We could be going around in circles in here,_ he worried, _Or we could be headed in the completely wrong direction._

"I can barely see anything!" Jonathan yelled in order to be heard over the noise of the winds.

"This storm is stronger than usual," he heard Sheik's voice agree from behind him.

Jonathan saw Chale turn around in front of him. "Yes, the storm is strong, but I can see the path," she shouted, "Just follow me!" She turned back around and began walking again.

Seeing that he had no other choice, Jonathan did as he was told and followed the young Gerudo princess, with Sheik following him. Just moments after he began walking again, Jonathan caught sight of a brown wooden pole sticking out of the ground with a red flag billowing furiously in the wind. _These flagpoles must point out the way we need to go,_ Jonathan realized, _But I don't see another one right now. How can Chale see them?_ Sure enough, a few seconds after passing the first flagpole, Jonathan saw Chale go past another one. This succession of events repeated itself for about ten minutes before Jonathan suddenly saw a stone structure of some kind appear from out of the sand walls that surrounded him.

"What's that in front of us?" Jonathan shouted as a question to Chale.

"That's what we call the Desert Outpost," Chale yelled back, "It has been used by those crossing the desert as a place to rest halfway through their journey."

Chale ran to the entrance of the structure and waited for the other two travelers to arrive. Jonathan thought that the outpost appeared quite small, but decided it was better to go inside than to stay out in the open desert. He and Sheik hurried up to Chale and followed her inside the structure. Soon after the entrance, Jonathan saw a gap in front of him with the top of a ladder showing above the gap. _Oh, the outpost is mostly underground,_ Jonathan figured out. He followed Chale down the ladder and into a large, square room with gray stone walls and a similar ceiling over them.

"I think we ought to wait down here until the storm passes," Jonathan stated.

Chale looked at Jonathan with confusion on her face. "This storm is always here," she explained, "It's worse than normal right now, but it doesn't move."

"She's right," Sheik said as he walked closer to Jonathan and Chale, "While we have the time to wait for the storm to die down, we're already starting to come out of it. Since we have only a small amount of food and water with us, we might as well get back out there and press on once we are all ready to do so."

"I think we need to come up with a final plan of action before we set out again," Jonathan began, "Sheik, you told me there is a Great Fairy's Fountain at the Desert Colossus, right?"

"Yes, that is correct," Sheik replied.

"Right then," Jonathan continued as he turned toward Chale, "Chale, once we reach the Desert Colossus, I am going to leave you with Sheik at the fountain while I go through the Spirit Temple. After I'm done, we'll head back through the desert together and be back home in time for lunch."

"Wait! You're going to leave me with him!?" Chale half-shouted as she pointed at Sheik, "No way!"

Jonathan sighed and was about to try to talk some sense into Chale, but Sheik spoke first. "Jonathan, please go outside and wait for us," he said curtly, "I will gain Chale's trust myself."

"Alright, just don't keep me waiting for too long," Jonathan replied as he walked back to the ladder and climbed up and then walked out of the outpost.

"Chale, don't be afraid, I'm here to help you," Sheik said once he was sure Jonathan was outside.

"I can't trust you," Chale responded quickly, backing away from Sheik, "I don't believe Jonathan would trust you either. You have him under some kind of mind trick."

Sheik sighed. "You do not trust me because I am a Sheikah, is that right?" he asked.

Chale nodded. "I can only trust those Sheikah that my mother trusts, and you are not one of them," she explained.

Sheik nodded in understanding. "Then perhaps this will change your mind about me," he said as he grabbed a Deku Seed from out of a small pouch on his clothing and quickly threw it down on the ground between himself and Chale. When it hit the floor, it exploded in a blinding flash that caused Chale to shield her eyes and turn away from Sheik with a small yell of surprise. When she looked back to where Sheik was standing just a moment earlier, she could not believe her eyes. "No way . . . that's impossible . . . ," she managed to say in disbelief.

----------

After a few minutes of waiting in the blinding sands, Jonathan began to grow restless of waiting for his two fellow travelers. However, just as he began to turn back toward the entrance of the outpost when he saw Chale and Sheik walk out of the building. "Are we on the same page now?" Jonathan asked the two.

Sheik nodded. "We're good to go now," he replied.

"Alright then," Jonathan said cheerfully as he turned away from the two, "Now, how do we find our way to the Desert Colossus?"

"Just follow me," Chale replied as she ran a little ahead of Jonathan and began to look around, "I'll find the way. Just give me a moment."

Sheik walked next to Jonathan. Jonathan turned toward the Sheikah and asked, "How does she know where to look for these things? I can't see more than fifteen feet in front of me."

"Her goggles are special," Sheik replied, "They contain the Lens of Truth. The Lens of Truth can see through disguises and lies that the eyes and mind alone cannot. Chale is using the Lens to search through the sands to find the way toward our destination."

"What is she looking for now?" Jonathan inquired.

"There is supposed to be a Poe around here that will lead anyone who can see it to the Desert Colossus," Sheik answered.

"A Poe?" Jonathan asked for clarification. He had heard the term before, but he wasn't sure what it meant.

"A Poe is a special kind of ghost," Sheik explained, "Usually they are of those who had great power within them when they died. This Poe in particular is the spirit of Lenif, a Sheikah warrior who died in this very structure during the War of Chaos after being mortally wounded in the Spirit Temple. He was one of Orizon's Fifteen Followers."

Before Jonathan could ask about that, Chale suddenly shouted out, "Quickly! Follow me!" As the two young men looked back at Chale, she began running into the desert.

"Come on!" Sheik encouraged as they both began to run after the Gerudo princess, "Follow her path exactly and don't lose sight of her, or you will become terribly lost!"

Jonathan nodded as the two caught up with Chale, who could run at the same pace that the other two could jog. However, Jonathan was caught completely off-guard when Chale took an abrupt turn while running. "Whoa!" he shouted as his boots seemed unable to grip the sand beneath him for a short time. Once he was able to run again, he quickly caught up with Sheik again and slowed up a little.

"I forgot to tell you," Sheik apologized, "When your feet are light, they do not grip the ground very well. We are on hard ground now, though, so you can have your feet in their normal state again."

Jonathan focused his mind on his feet again and had his feet return to their normal state. He could feel his feet firmly n the ground now and was able to turn with Chale. "Are we going around in circles?" Jonathan asked, "It seems like we are."

"Don't worry, Chale will take us where we need to go," Sheik assured, "Just follow her and we'll get to our desired destination."

Jonathan nodded, but couldn't help but feel apprehensive of basically running through the middle of a desert blind. With little food and water, his small band would not last long against the elements. And the thought of being mummified by the desert sands was not exactly appealing to Jonathan. But, seeing that he didn't really have another choice, he continued to follow Sheik and Chale through the desert.

Eventually, after a short time of following Chale through the storm, Jonathan noticed that the storm seemed to be subsiding. He could now see farther ahead of him and even started seeing the walls that surrounded the desert area at this location. And it appeared to him that they were not approaching the location of the Gerudo Fortress again, but that they were approaching an exit from the desert of some kind. Finally, Chale, Jonathan and Sheik left the storm and entered a new area of the desert.

"Finally, we're through that storm," Jonathan said relieved, "So, where is the Desert Colossus?"

"It's up ahead," Chale replied as she walked forward, taking off her goggles, "We just can't see it yet."

After walking forward for another ten minutes, Jonathan and his group finally came to the place they had been looking for. As Jonathan looked forward, he saw that the Desert Colossus was actually a huge stone in a cliff from which the figure of a woman had been carved. What Jonathan found interesting about the woman was that she was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands pointing away from her body with the palms facing the sky at slightly under her shoulder level, while a large snake hovered over her head, seemingly blocking the sun's rays from the woman. It reminded him of a Buddhist pose from back on Earth. But what impressed Jonathan was the sheer size of the work. The statue was at least a hundred feet tall from the bottom to the top, and all of it painstakingly carved out of the cliff behind it a long time ago.

"Did the Gerudo do all this?" Jonathan inquired about the statue.

"Yes, many centuries ago, our people built this work," Chale explained proudly, "Its purpose is to honor the memory of an ancient hero of our race."

"For such an enormous work of art, she must have done something truly amazing," Jonathan figured.

"It is said that she single-handedly saved the Gerudo from extinction long ago," Sheik affirmed.

Jonathan nodded and began to look around at the landscape around him. Of course, it being the desert, most of what surrounded him was the yellow sand. However, Jonathan also saw several trees scattered around before him. Approaching one of these trees, he caught sight of a small pool of water near the tree's position. Bending down and cupping his hand, Jonathan lifted a small amount of the liquid to his mouth and sipped a small amount of it. Having trekked through a desert storm for the past hour, the pure water's taste was very refreshing to Jonathan.

"This must be an oasis of some kind," Jonathan commented as he stood up straight again.

"The Spirit Temple is inside the Desert Colossus," Chale explained as she pointed toward an opening at the bottom of the front of the huge statue, "Deep within, you'll find Kotake and Koume, the twin sister witches. If you survive long enough to meet them, that is."

"Alright, thank you very much, Chale, but you've done your part," Jonathan explained, "You'll stay with Sheik at the Great Fairy's Fountain around here while I deal with those old hags. Sheik, I'm counting on you. Keep Chale safe from danger."

"You can count on me," Sheik replied.

Jonathan then turned and walked toward the entrance of the Spirit Temple, never hesitating as he walked inside. Once inside, he found a poorly illuminated room with a short set of stairs before him. Jonathan grabbed his shield from off of his back, strapping it onto his left arm, and then unsheathed his sword with his right hand as he began to walk up the stairs and onto the platform in this entrance room. As Jonathan looked around, he saw a large passageway to his right, but this was blocked off by a large gray block that was wide enough to not allow him to squeeze around it. To his left, Jonathan saw a small crawlspace at the bottom of the wall. As he walked over to it, however, he quickly realized that it was way too small for him to fit through. Therefore, he walked back over to the blocked passageway and began trying to push the big block out of the way. Quickly, Jonathan realized that was futile as well.

_Damn, this is a dead end!_ he thought to himself, _There's no way to get deeper into this temple._ He then turned and looked back at the small hole in the wall. _Unless . . . ,_ he realized as he rushed back out of the temple.

----------

Author's Notes: A little bit of a cliffhanger ending here. And yes, the poe in the wasteland being that of a Sheikah named Lenif is my invention, not canon.

There are now 12 chapters left in this story.

New chapter next week. Until then, read and review everyone!


	22. Chapter 21: New Strength in the Spirit T

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all those out there who read my story in the past week. Special thanks to those who submitted a review.

bluenavydragon: Thanks for your continued support. On Sheik, I am sticking close to the Ocarina of Time version of him. Those of you who have beaten that game, you know exactly who Sheik is. And for those of you who haven't, you'll figure it out before the story is finished. As for the whole boots thing, I just didn't like the idea of Jonathan changing his shoes every three steps, so I took some liberties with the concept.

SPark681: Thanks for your continued support. Well, I can tell you that Jonathan will not have to travel back in time to make himself a kid. But he has already thought of something.

Kanamay: Thanks for the support. And the two sequels are assuming that I will be able to write them. I already have an outline for the second part of the trilogy, however. As to Fara, I see the Gerudo as being like the Amazons of ancient Greek mythology. In their society, the men had no place in raising the children. And the issue of Jonathan going back to Earth is discussed in later chapters. But by now, it should be apparent that something is going to make him want to stay in Hyrule.

Now, time for another dungeon.

**Chapter 21: New Strength in the Spirit Temple**

A few moments after Jonathan had left them, Sheik and Chale were walking toward the Great Fairy's Fountain. However, just as they were about to enter the area that contained the fountain, Sheik heard the sound of heavy footsteps falling on sand from behind him. When he turned around, he saw Jonathan, with sword and shield in hand, running toward them.

"Sheik! Chale! Wait!" he called.

"Jonathan, is there a problem?" Sheik asked after Jonathan stopped in front of them.

"Yeah, unfortunately, there is," Jonathan began, "You see, when I entered the temple, I found that one way further into the structure was blocked off by a huge gray block that I couldn't get around or push. There was another way out of the room I was in, but it was through a small hole in a wall that I'm too big to get through. However, Chale appears to be just small enough to get though it."

"I happen to know the layout of the temple," Sheik informed, "And although Chale could get through that opening in the wall you speak of, that is not the correct path to Twinrova's chamber. The path blocked off with that giant block is."

"So, basically, we're screwed?" Jonathan asked.

"No, not at all!" Chale exclaimed as she pointed toward the colossus, "You see that?"

Jonathan looked in the direction Chale was pointing, which happened to be where the statue's right hand was. "No, I don't see anything in particular there," Jonathan replied.

"There's a treasure chest on that hand of the colossus," Chale explained, "And inside that chest is an item called the Silver Gauntlets. Whoever wears the Silver Gauntlets will have their strength multiplied by ten."

"Are you serious?" Jonathan inquired in disbelief.

"She is," Sheik affirmed, "And she could reach that chest from the hole in the wall, but it will be dangerous."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," Chale said as she began running toward the entrance of the Spirit Temple.

"Chale, wait!" Jonathan cried as he ran after her, "You can't go in there all by yourself!" He quickly caught up to Chale and got in front of her. "I told your father I'd bring you home safe and sound."

Chale stopped and replied, "Jonathan, neither you nor Sheik can go anywhere in that temple without the Silver Gauntlets. I'm the only one who can get them for you. Our only choice is for me to go in there and get up to that chest."

Jonathan thought for a moment and then realized that Chale was right. "Well, okay Chale," he said, "But pleased, be careful in there. It will certainly be dangerous."

Chale nodded. "You can count on me," she replied as she ran into the temple.

"She's been in the temple before," Sheik said as he walked up to Jonathan from behind, "She'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Jonathan responded as he watched Chale disappear inside the Spirit Temple, "I hope you're right."

----------

As Chale entered the Spirit Temple herself, she noticed nothing unusual about the air inside. She had been in the temple before, and nothing seemed different to her now. _That's strange,_ Chale thought as she approached the hole in the bottom of the left-side wall, _If Twinrova wanted to harm me, the air in here would feel much different. But I feel right at home in here. This is odd._

Regardless, she knew Jonathan had a mission to accomplish in this temple. She crawled through the hole at the base of the wall and began her ascent through the left-hand side of the Spirit Temple.

----------

Jonathan wiped his forehead for what seemed to be hundredth time in the past half-hour as he continued to stand outside of the Desert Colossus. He stood leaning against a stone pillar that jutted up from the sands, while Sheik sat on the nearby steps that led into the Spirit Temple. He still had most of his blonde hair covered by bandages and the lower half of his face was still hidden from view.

"You holding up there, Jonathan?" Sheik asked.

"I'll be fine," Jonathan replied, "It's cooler inside, from what I felt."

Sheik nodded as he went back to whatever it was he was doing before he spoke to Jonathan. From what he had seen so far, Jonathan decided that Sheik was a rather odd individual. Although his voice and build were definitely masculine, Sheik's mannerisms were closer to that of a woman. The most obvious example Jonathan had seen of this so far was that Sheik was now sitting up straight on those steps with his legs closed together and his hands together in his lap. _That's a really odd way for a guy to sit,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _But he looks completely normal like that. Then again, I haven't seen much of the mannerisms of male Sheikahs, so this just might be normal to him._

"Sheik, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?" Jonathan asked his companion, "How did you first meet Princess Zelda?"

Sheik paused for a moment before answering. "Well, if you must know Jonathan," Sheik began, "I actually happen to be Princess Zelda's cousin."

"Her cousin?" Jonathan inquired, "General Attula never told me that King Alazon had any siblings."

"That's because he doesn't have any siblings," Sheik replied, "But his wife did."

"Princess Zelda's mother had a sibling?" Jonathan inquired, "Who is it?"

"She trained you in the way of the sword," Sheik replied.

"Impa? I never thought of her as a mother," Jonathan admitted, "She always seems so serious and strict."

Sheik laughed at that. "Well, she is my mother, believe it or not," he explained, "She is a very tough individual, as you already know."

"Yeah, saying she's tough is a huge understatement," Jonathan agreed, "So, if Impa is your mother, who is your father?"

Sheik again did not reply immediately, but paused for a moment, almost as if to think. "Jonathan, remember how I told you that Lenif was one of Orizon's Fifteen Followers?" Sheik inquired.

"Yeah, I remember you saying that," Jonathan answered.

"Well, my mother was among that group as well," Sheik explained, "There was also a male Sheikah in the group named Agahnim, who was considered to be the most powerful member of the fifteen. Although Orizon greatly discouraged sexual and romantic relationships between his followers, Agahnim fell in love with Impa."

"I see," Jonathan said, "What happened to your father?"

"Shortly after I was conceived, he disappeared inside this temple," Sheik responded, gesturing to the Desert Colossus, "After the War of Chaos ended, many searches of the Spirit Temple were undertaken, but no trace of Agahnim was ever found. No body, no clothing, no jewelry, nothing. It was as if he simply vanished from the face of Hyrule. And he hasn't been seen since."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jonathan consoled.

"Well, most of Orizon's followers didn't turn out too well," Sheik explained, "When the War of Chaos started, there were fifteen young Sheikahs, all with great promise and potential. By war's end, twelve had been killed, one was missing, and only two were left alive. My mother happened to be one of the two that survived the war. The other was her younger sister, Eleza, who had married King Alazon shortly after my father disappeared."

_Well, that explains how Sheik and Zelda are related,_ Jonathan figured. "I guess I have to count myself as lucky you didn't need my help in that war," he joked.

"Yes, that was a very bloody conflict," Sheik admitted, "But that is in the past."

"I surely hope that Princess Zelda will never have to face a situation like that when she becomes Queen," Jonathan said. Unfortunately, like so many before her, the future Queen Zelda would encounter her own set of tragedies, capped off with a war against the formerly peaceful Twilight World.

Sheik nodded and then paused for a moment. "Jonathan, what do you think of Princess Zelda?" he asked.

Jonathan looked at Sheik for a moment. _Why is he asking me that question?_ Jonathan thought to himself, _Is Zelda spying on me or something?_ "Well, to tell you the truth," Jonathan began slowly, "Princess Zelda is the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. And I would die for her."

"Do you love her?" Sheik asked.

Jonathan had to think for a moment before answering that. _I think I do, but I can't tell him that,_ he reasoned to himself, _But why would he ask that question of me?_ "Sheik, why are you asking me that question?" Jonathan asked.

"Because Princess Zelda wanted me to ask you that question," Sheik responded.

Jonathan still had to think about how he should answer the question. _He's going to tell Zelda my answer,_ he thought to himself, _Maybe I should just tell him what she would want to hear. Well, what does she want to hear? Actually, if she wanted Sheik to ask me this question, I would think she wants to hear a yes. Does that mean she loves me too?_

Jonathan's mind was spinning in a sea of realizations and assumptions, but his answer to Sheik's question was clear and unmistakable. "Yes, I do love Zelda," he replied slowly.

Jonathan couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Sheik's eyes suddenly brighten at his response. "I am sure Princess Zelda will be satisfied by your answer," he told Jonathan.

"I sure hope so," Jonathan agreed, his head still spinning. _Could this really be happening to me?_

----------

Indeed, Chale found no problems inside Spirit Temple. She knew the layout of this side of the temple like the back of her hand. She also knew every trap and every trigger to open every door she needed to open on the way up to the top levels. After lighting the torches in a room with a cross-shaped platform, three Beamos statues that were not moving at all, and a number of razor traps that were also standing still, Chale made a hidden chest appear from which she recovered a small key. Exiting the room, she ran up the staircase that led up to the highest levels of the Spirit Temple and back outside onto the right hand of the Desert Colossus. She reached the top of the stairs and opened the lock on the door there. Passing through the doorway, Chale entered an L-shaped room that turned to her left and led back outside the colossus.

Chale knew that there was a large suit of armor with a huge battle axe set up at the end of the room that would come to life when an unwanted intruder approached it. However, she also knew that this armor, called an Iron Knuckle, was under the command of Twinrova like all the other fiends in the structure. Therefore, Chale approached the exit from the temple with very little caution. As she tried to skirt around the Iron Knuckle, however, she started to hear the sound of clanking metal. She looked at the Iron Knuckle and saw that it had come to life and was staring right at her.

"Uh oh!" Chale said as she ducked under the Iron Knuckle's first attack, which was a horizontal sweep of its massive axe across the level of her hips. She rolled away from the enemy quickly as it ripped its weapon out of the wall and began to stalk the Gerudo princess.

_I'm in big trouble here,_ Chale thought as she put her back against one of the brick pillars that dotted this room, _I have no weapons that will harm this Iron Knuckle and there's no way I can hide from it._ That latter thought suddenly got her moving away from the pillar just as the Iron Knuckle swung its axe around and completely obliterated it. Chale also saw that the doors in this room were now barred. There was no way out. She was trapped and was now matched against certain death.

Suddenly, Chale saw something unusual on the Iron Knuckle's neck. It was a strange pendant that she had never seen before. It was a black sphere and stuck out very clearly against the polished steel of the Iron Knuckle's armor. Realizing she still had her goggles with her, Chale put on the lenses and saw a black shape moving around on the inside of the enemy. _That thing is being controlled by an imp!_ Chale realized as she took her goggles off again, getting ready for a death-defying stunt, _It's controlling the Iron Knuckle through that pendant. If I can remove that pendant, I should be able to stop this thing. I only have one shot at this._

Chale reached into her bag of items and found a small knife that could pierce through metal if necessary. Looking back at the pendant that hung around the Iron Knuckle's neck, she saw it had a leather strap. Noting this, she moved closer to the wall nearest to her and waited for the Iron Knuckle to attack again, her knife in her right hand. She crouched down slightly, encouraging the fiend to aim low.

Her plan worked perfectly. At the right moment, Chale jumped up as high as she could and watched as the Iron Knuckle's axe went under her feet and got stuck in the wall. Landing on the blade of the axe, she took one running stride toward the Iron Knuckle's body, and then leapt toward the head as it removed its axe from the wall. Chale hooked her left arm around the neck of the Iron Knuckle and her momentum swung her body around to the back of the huge armored enemy. Quickly, Chale found the leather cord that held the black pendant in its place and plunged her knife into it. The effects were immediate. The ten-feet-tall suit of armor immediately stopped moving the moment the black pendant fell away and the Iron Knuckle began to fall into pieces on the floor. Chale decided to take the black pendant back to the Gerudo Fortress as a trophy of her exploits. Putting the knife away, she walked out of the room and toward the outside world again.

----------

As Jonathan continued to contemplate all that Sheik had told him and what it all implied, he didn't notice when Chale started waving down to him from on top of the right hand of the Desert Colossus. It was only when she began shouting down to Jonathan and Sheik did he suddenly take notice.

"Chale!" Jonathan shouted as he walked closer to her, "Do you have the Silver Gauntlets yet?"

"They're in this chest!" Chale yelled back, pointing to the large wooden chest next to her, "But I don't think Twinrova wants to harm me."

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked.

"Nothing inside the temple attacked me except for an Iron Knuckle that had been possessed by an imp," Chale explained.

_I still need to find the Light Power inside the Spirit Temple,_ Jonathan thought to himself. "Regardless, Chale," Jonathan began, "Your father ordered me to destroy Twinrova for possessing you. His orders were very clear. I have a job to do. I need those Silver Gauntlets."

"Alright, hang on a moment," Chale replied as she walked over to the chest and opened it. She had to practically jump into the chest in order to recover the Silver Gauntlets inside, which were basically regular leather gauntlets with a coating of silver on the outside. Chale got herself out of the chest and then walked back into Jonathan's view. "Here, catch!" she yelled as she hurled the gauntlets down to Jonathan.

Jonathan caught them with relative ease. He then began to take off the leather gauntlets he was wearing.

"Hey, someone catch me!" Chale demanded.

"Hang on, Chale," Sheik replied, "Let Jonathan put on the Silver Gauntlets first."

Once Jonathan removed his old gauntlets, he slipped the Silver Gauntlets onto his arms. Once equipped, Jonathan felt a strange tingling feeling spread through his arms and then into the rest of his body. He then walked over to where Chale was standing above him and extended his arms away from him. "Alright Chale, jump," he said.

Chale nodded and without hesitation jumped off of the hand of the Desert Colossus, falling a hundred feet into Jonathan's arms. When he caught her, Jonathan felt as if he were catching something that weighed a lot less than Chale actually did. _Wow, I guess these gauntlets actually work,_ he thought as he let Chale stand on the ground.

"Sheik, I want you to take Chale back across the desert to the Gerudo Fortress," Jonathan said, "I'll take care of things from here."

"Jonathan, you may need these," Chale stated quickly as she took her goggles off her head and handed them to Jonathan.

"Chale, don't you need these to get back across the desert?" Jonathan asked.

"Don't worry," Sheik interrupted, "The way back across the Haunted Wasteland is easier than the way here. We'll be fine."

"Well, if you say so," Jonathan replied as he secured the goggles onto his forehead while handing his pair over to Chale, "Good luck Sheik and Chale."

"Good luck Jonathan," Chale replied as she and Sheik began walking away from Jonathan and the Desert Colossus.

Jonathan turned around and walked back inside the Spirit Temple. Walking up the staircase inside, he looked at the way blocked off by the large gray block before he put his hands on the block. Taking a deep breath in and out, he then started to push against it. At first, nothing happened, but then a loud rumbling began as Jonathan felt the block moving the way he was pushing it. Jonathan was initially surprised by this event, so much so that he stopped pushing the block and it stopped moving. "Wow, these things really do work," he whispered as he placed his arms against the block and began pushing it again, moving it slowly along the corridor until it fell down into an opening. Ahead of him, the path curved to his left. Moving into this room, Jonathan saw a razor trap moving along the floor and a strange stone pedestal with a rotating eye of sorts on top of it. Looking up, Jonathan suddenly caught sight of a clear crystal switch hanging from the roof on the far side of the room. Jonathan looked down and saw that the doors on the other side of the room were all barred shut._Maybe if I hit that switch, the doors will open,_ he thought as he pulled out his bow with his left arm and pulled an arrow out of his quiver with his right hand. After arming the bow with the arrow, Jonathan aimed at the switch and fired. The arrow flew right on target and hit the switch, which glowed yellow as the bars on the doors went up.

Jonathan began to walk toward one of the doors when he heard a strange sound coming from the stone pedestal. Glancing toward it, he saw that the eye on the pedestal was now looking right at him and was no longer rotating. "Shit, that can't be good!" Jonathan exclaimed quietly as he went into a dead run for the door to escape the laser that shot out from the eye.

----------

Orizon was still in the Gerudo Fortress an hour past midday when he felt the presence of the Triforce return to his attention. He quickly stood up and looked out toward the gate that led to the Haunted Wasteland, expecting to see Jonathan and Chale emerge from the opening in the valley wall.

However, while he shortly did see Chale emerge, he was pleasantly shocked to see Sheik accompany her. "Well, well, well," he whispered, "That was a rather brash decision to make, young lady." He then hurried down the levels of the fortress.

----------

"I guess this is good-bye for now," Sheik stated.

"Thanks for your help, Sheik," Chale replied as she began walking toward the Gerudo Fortress entrance, when she suddenly stopped. "Oh wait! I have something to show you!" she exclaimed as she ran back to Sheik, pulling out the pendant from her earlier exploit.

Sheik's eyes went wide. He knew what the item was upon seeing it. "Chale, where did you find this?" Sheik asked as Chale came close to him again.

"I got it off an Iron Knuckle inside the Spirit Temple," Chale replied, "You don't want to know what happened."

Sheik stared at the pendant and realized that an evil imp was still embedded inside it, just waiting for a suitable host to control. "Chale, give it to me," Sheik ordered, putting his right hand out, palm up, "Now."

"But it's mine!" Chale cried, trying to hide her treasure.

"Chale, that thing is dangerous," Sheik said as he snatched the pendant out of Chale's hands. Then, with the pendant in his left hand, Sheik began to chant a spell in a strange tongue that Chale didn't recognize. Suddenly, Sheik's right hand began to glow blue as he brought it up and pointed his fingers at the pendant. Then, bolts of lightning came out of his fingers and struck the pendant.

Afterwards, Sheik examined the pendant again. Convinced that the imp had been destroyed, he handed it back to Chale. "Don't worry, it's safe now," he assured.

Chale looked at the pendant for a few moments, almost expecting something terrible to pop out of it. When nothing happened, she turned around and began walking back to the Gerudo Fortress.

Distracted by these events, Sheik did not see Orizon come out of the Gerudo Fortress through a side entrance. When he turned to leave the area, he was caught completely off guard by his appearance.

"Sheik, I wasn't expecting to see you here," Orizon began, "But I suppose it isn't such a bad thing that you were here to help Jonathan."

Sheik did not reply to this at all.

"Well, seeing that Chale has returned, I can now leave this dreadful place," Orizon continued, "I certainly hope Jonathan can do what he has left to do."

"Yes, I agree," Sheik replied coldly.

Orizon smiled and chuckled. "Come on now, you are going to act this way toward your own flesh and blood?" he asked, "I thought Impa raised you better than that."

"Are you here to help me or not?" Sheik asked, "If not, then good-bye." He then walked past Orizon, his eyes looking away from the older Sheikah.

As soon as Sheik was out of sight, Orizon grimaced. "I will correct my mistake," he said quietly as he too left the Gerudo Valley.

----------

Wearing Chale's goggles, Jonathan entered the next room. Inside, he saw four statues standing in a square shape with a blue floor switch in the middle of the statues. There was also a door on the opposite side of the room, which was barred. _I guess that switch will open the door,_ Jonathan thought as he walked toward the blue floor switch and stepped on it. Indeed, he saw the bars in front of the door slide up into the stone wall. "There we go," Jonathan said as he walked off the switch and toward the door. However, Jonathan was caught off guard when the bars suddenly slid back down over the door, blocking the way again.

"Damn, I gotta stand on this one," Jonathan remarked as he looked back at the switch, "Or move something onto it. Like one of these statues." However, when Jonathan looked at the statues again, he noticed a purple halo surrounding each one through the goggles. _They're possessed,_ Jonathan realized as he suddenly had an idea. He pulled out his bow and placed an arrow in it. He then aimed and fired at one of the statues. As soon as he did that, he ran over to the barred door. The statue that he had hit suddenly began jumping around and landed on the floor switch.

"Yes!" Jonathan exclaimed as he rushed through the door while it was open. He now found himself at the bottom of a staircase which led up to another door. Jonathan passed through this door. He was now in a short corridor with multiple pillars lining both sides of the center of it. At the end of the room, which was walled with red bricks, Jonathan thought he saw something large. Putting on the goggles again, he saw a black shape blocking the doorway at the end.

_I wonder what that is,_ Jonathan thought as he walked toward the black shape, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Pulling off the goggles, he saw something at the end of the hallway that Chale would have called an Iron Knuckle. All Jonathan knew was that it looked like a ten-foot-tall suit of armor with a huge battle axe blocking his way. As he got closer, Jonathan saw that the Knuckle was completely blocking his route.

"While I'm all for preserving the past," Jonathan commented as he pulled out his sword, "This has got to go." He then swung his blade around, hitting the Iron Knuckle with a satisfying clang that made Jonathan smile as he waited for the armor to fall apart.

The suit did begin to rattle, but to Jonathan's horror, the suit instead began to walk right toward him. "Oh shit!" Jonathan exclaimed as he pulled out his shield in order to defend himself. However, as he soon found out, his shield would not protect him well from a 40-pound battle axe. The first swing hit Jonathan's shield as Jonathan stood fast, preparing a counterattack once the axe was swung. That planning went out the window when the hit sent Jonathan flying into a brick pillar behind him, hitting the back of his head on the hard surface. What was worse, his shield now lay in shards around the room; it shattered upon impact with the axe.

Once Jonathan had regained his bearings, he still heard clanging in his head, but now from the Iron Knuckle marching slowly toward him, seeming to count down the seconds to his doom. Jonathan quickly got to his feet, his head still spinning from the two collisions he had just experienced. Surprisingly, his sword was still in his right hand. _Okay Jonathan, lets try to think about this for a moment,_ Jonathan thought as fast as his still-throbbing mind would allow,_That thing weighs too much for it to be used twice very quickly. If I can sneak in hits in between that thing's swipes, I should be able to take this thing down._

Jonathan waited until the Iron Knuckle got close enough to him to swing its battle axe again. As it began to attack again, Jonathan took a step back and watched as his enemy's weapon whipped around in front of Jonathan. Quickly, Jonathan rushed in and struck at his foe with little success before he jumped away again. _That's not going to work,_ he realized as he spotted a black pendant hanging around the Iron Knuckle's neck. _I wonder what that thing does,_ he asked himself as he prepared for his foe's next attack. After avoiding another strike, Jonathan got in close again and this time swiped at the black pendant, but his blow went a little high. However, it still cut the leather strap that held the pendant around the Iron Knuckle's neck and the pendant fell into Jonathan's left hand, whose arm still had the shattered shield's leather bands on it. Suddenly entranced by this item, Jonathan's first recollection that something else had just gone wrong was a large metal helmet landing on his head as he was buried under what seemed to be a sea of metal armor. After a minute, he had fought his way out of the pile, but had lost the black pendant.

"Oh well, at least the way is open now," Jonathan reasoned to himself as he sheathed his sword and walked through the path the Iron Knuckle was blocking. He found it led back outside and to a large wooden chest. Opening it, Jonathan found a large shield with two leather bands on the back. Turning it over, he was nearly blinded by the bright flash of sunlight that reflected off this mirrored shield's surface. After his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he saw a design on the shield of a crescent moon. "Cool, a new shield," Jonathan said as he slipped the leather bands off his left arm and then slipped his new Mirror Shield on instead. Satisfied, he walked back inside the Spirit Temple, his head able to register its agony and pain now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

----------

Sheik walked into the courtyard outside of Princess Zelda's room and looked around. Spotting no one, he ran over to the ladder leading up to the second level and climbed up it and then entered Princess Zelda's room. About 20 seconds later, Princess Zelda, wearing her purple and pink robes, walked out of her room and traversed her way to Jonathan's courtyard.

----------

"Jonathan, you are in bad shape," Link told Jonathan.

"I know Link, I know," Jonathan replied as he was down on his right knee, holding the Master Sword with his left hand. He still felt dizzy and had a feeling he was suffering a concussion.

"You think I should take over from here?" Link asked.

"If you can keep yourself in fighting condition, sure," Jonathan replied as he prepared for his transformation into the Hero of Time. Sure enough, bolts of electricity began to course through his body as it transformed him into the blonde-haired hero of renown.

Link removed the Master Sword from its sheathe and put the Mirror Shield on his right arm. He then looked around at his surroundings. Jonathan had just used the Mirror Shield to reflect sunlight onto the face of a sun in one room of the Spirit Temple. Once he had done that, the platform on which he was standing fell down a floor. Link was now in front of the face of a statue almost identical in design to the Desert Colossus. Link had been here before, so he knew what he had to do.

"Jonathan, will you be alright?" Link asked to Jonathan, whose spirit was now inside the Master Sword.

"I think I will be," Jonathan replied slowly, "I think I got a concussion from that Iron Knuckle I fought earlier."

Link knew exactly what Jonathan was talking about, as he had suffered similar injuries himself in the past. "Don't worry, I know what has to be done," he replied as he walked into the beam of sunlight that shone down onto the platform he was standing on and used the Mirror Shield to reflect it onto the face of the statue. After about ten seconds, the face began to crumble apart, revealing a grating. Link put his shield and sword away and pulled out the Longshot. He took careful aim and then launched the hook into the grate, where the hook got caught tight. Link then twisted the handle part of the Longshot, which caused him to fly across the gap and onto the platform with the grating. After he worked the hook free from the grating, he turned his attention to a door nearby that had a large, elegant lock on it. Remembering that Jonathan had recovered the key for this door earlier, Link took that key, unlocked the door, and then went into the next room.

Link pulled out his sword and shield immediately after he entered this room, since in his prior experience there was a third Iron Knuckle in this corridor. However, as he looked around, he saw no suit of armor. Then Link remembered that last time he was here, Nabooru had been brainwashed by Kotake and Koume into fighting for Ganondorf. But he knew that those two witches were right in the next room. Preparing himself for a hard fight, he walked briskly toward the other end of the corridor, went around the throne that stood at the far end of the room, and passed through the large door there. In the next room, Link climbed up a wall in front of him onto a large, square platform that was surrounded by four smaller square platforms, one within jumping distance of the middle of each edge of the central platform. All five platforms were elevated about twenty feet above the floor. With sword and shield ready, Link walked into the center of the platform.

"Stop!" a shrill old feminine voice cried as a large broom appeared in front of Link and a figure with large eyes and hair seemingly made of ice appeared, "You again!?"

"Why have you returned to this place, you impudent monster?" another voice cried as a second broom appeared and a witch exactly the same as the first except with hair made of fire.

"You two possessed Princess Chale of the Gerudo," Link proclaimed to the two old witches, "Ganondorf ordered a warrior named Jonathan to destroy you both for your actions against him. Jonathan's mind was injured during his passage through this temple, so I have come to finish his job."

"You and Ganondorf, working together?" Kotake, the witch with the ice hair, spoke with a laugh, "I never thought I would live to see this day."

"And what you said is a lie!" Koume, the witch with the fire hair, added, "We would do no such thing to the great King Ganondorf!"

"Be that as it may," Link continued, "I know that a while back, a part of the Light Power was hidden away in this temple. I demand to know where it is."

"Why, it's right in front of you," Kotake answered as Link looked and, indeed, on the far side of the room saw a golden light glowing from the top of a staircase. He began to walk toward it.

"But you have to defeat us first to get it, Hero of Time!" Koume interrupted as she used the red wand she held to fire a stream of flames at Link. However, Link was expecting this sort of challenge and got out of the way of the flames by performing a backflip.

"You know how this fight will end, so just get out of my way and I won't have to destroy you again," Link called as he brought forth the Mirror Shield.

"We'll see about that!" the twin witches cried together as they began to circle the chamber, flying around on their brooms. Link hunkered down, waiting for the next attack to come. However, he had to split his attention between Kotake and Koume, since they were flying around on opposite sides of the room. Suddenly, he saw Kotake stop her forward motion through the air and waved her wand at Link. Link turned toward Kotake and pointed his shield right at her, waiting for her attack. Indeed, Kotake then fired a stream of ice at Link, who used the Mirror Shield to reflect the magical blast away from him. Link then looked around for Koume and found her approaching her sister's position. He then angled his shield slightly and got Koume caught in Kotake's ice blast.

Koume cried out in pain upon getting hit with the blast. In retaliation, she immediately fired her fire blast at Link. However, he deflected this too, this time right to Kotake, who cried out in agony. "You can't win," Link shouted, "Give up now and I will make your deaths quick."

"Sister! Let us combine our powers!" Kotake yelled.

"Yes! Let us teach this intruder a lesson," Koume replied as the two sisters flew at each other and collided in a bright flash of light. When the flash subsided, Link saw a large, dark-skinned woman floating in midair. She wore clothing very similar to that of a Gerudo woman. In each hand, she held one of the brooms the witches were riding on, except one of the brooms had fire on its brush end and the other was now ice. Her hair was half-ice, half-fire.

"Twinrova," Link muttered, "I'll defeat you too."

Twinrova said nothing, but floated around the outside of the room. Suddenly, she fired a fire blast at Link. Link brought up the Mirror Shield, but this time the blast was absorbed by the shield instead of reflected away. The shield also began to pulsate in a red color with the power of the fire. Twinrova soon fired another fire blast, which Link again absorbed into the shield, which now pulsated faster and more violently. Then Twinrova fired an ice blast at Link. Link dove away from the area of impact, which became iced over for a short time. He avoided yet another ice blast before he saw Twinrova was going to send out another fire blast at Link. Link brought up the Mirror Shield again and absorbed the blast. The shield pulsated even more as Link began to run right at Twinrova. Suddenly, the shield emitted a huge blast of flame, which completely engulfed Twinrova. She shrieked as she collapsed onto the small square platform below her. Link then jumped over to that platform, pulled out the Master Sword and began to attack the sorceress directly. However, he did not injure her enough to kill her before she recovered and began hovering about the outside of the room again. Link jumped back onto the large main platform and brought up his shield again. Twinrova hovered around until she fired an ice blast at Link. The blast hit the shield and was absorbed. The shield began to pulsate with power again, this time in a blue color with the power of ice. Soon, the witch fired another ice blast at Link. Again, he absorbed it into the Mirror Shield, which began to pulse faster and more violently. Link waited until Twinrova raised her fire wand above her head and then pointed it toward Link, issuing a stream of fire. He dove out of the way of the fire and waited for the next attack. It was another stream of fire, so Link dodged Twinrova's attack again.

_She'll be using ice this time,_ Link thought as he got ready to pull out his shield again. Sure enough, Twinrova attacked again with ice. Link absorbed the blast into the shield and then ran closer to the witch again as the pulsating shield finally issued forth a stream of ice that enveloped Twinrova. Stunned by her own magic again, the witch collapsed onto the small platform beneath her as Link jumped over to that platform and then used his sword to attack Twinrova again and again.

Suddenly, another bright flash issued forth from Twinrova as Koume and Kotake appeared separated again.

"Not again! We will not go back to the grave again!" Koume exclaimed.

"Why in Hyrule's name would Ganondorf think we'd possess his only child?" Kotake asked, "He was the one who brought us back from beyond only recently."

"Can I take the Light Power now or do I have to kill you again?" Link inquired.

"Go on, take it," Koume replied dejectedly as the two witches disappeared right in front of Link.

Link put the Master Sword back in its sheathe and put the Mirror Shield on his back as he jumped off the platform he was standing on and walked up the staircase that led to the Light Power. Upon reaching the door at the top, it opened automatically and Link walked through. Inside, this room was filled with a golden light. It seemed to come from every direction. As Link walked into the center of the room, the light suddenly began to leave the walls and approached him. As it entered him, Link could feel a new but familiar power enter him. He had felt this power four years ago, when Princess Zelda had given him the full Light Power. However, as the last of the golden light entered his body, Link felt that it was not complete.

Satisfied that he had done everything he could, Link turned around and began to leave the Spirit Temple.

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Author's Notes: As it is remarked near the end of the chapter, Ganondorf summoned Kotake and Koume back from the dead. So that is how they are alive when they died in Ocarina of Time.

Eleven chapters left now.

As always, a new chapter will be posted next Friday. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.


	23. Chapter 22: Zelda and Sheik

Author's Notes: Thanks to all those who read this story in the past week, and a special thanks to those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Yes, great boss fight, but like all boss fights in recent Zelda games, way too easy once you figure it out. To me the perfect boss fight is one in which even if you use the perfect strategy, it pushes you right to the very edge of your ability and resolve. And just ask Ben Roethlisberger about the recuperative powers of the human body. Thanks for the support.

The Silverdark Knight, a.k.a., the artist formerly known as bluenavydragon: Hey, it's going to be the same length whether there is a countdown or not. Just giving you a heads up on how much longer you have to stay with me. As for Sheik's "origins," that's another thing I made up. And I will tell you right now that Kotake and Koume were telling Jonathan the truth; they did not possess Chale. Thanks for your support.

Kanamay: I cannot confirm or deny your theory. You'll have to wait and see if you are right. Thanks for the support.

Infernal Flame Zero: The Shadow Temple is next, but not for another few chapters. Thanks for the support.

And now for a relatively short chapter.

**Chapter 22: Zelda and Sheik**

Link brushed himself off as he left the Haunted Wasteland and entered the Gerudo Fortress area. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, he guessed it was a few hours after midday. The Gerudo guard who was standing next to the gate that Link just passed through looked at him and was immediately startled by whom she saw.

"Link! What are you doing here?" she asked, obviously in surprise.

"I was helping Jonathan," Link replied as he looked around this familiar area, "You can close off the gate now."

"But Jonathan is still out there," the guard replied.

"No, he's with me," Link said, turning toward the guard, "We are sharing the same body right now. He suffered a concussion inside the Spirit Temple, requiring me to take over for him."

"Oh, I see," the guard responded as she pulled the lever next to the gate, making the barrier drop in front of the opening in the wall, "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm all set," Link replied as he began to walk toward where he knew Jonathan had left Epona, "But I need to get out of here before Ganondorf decides to return here."

The guard nodded as Link pulled the goggles off his eyes, showing that the skin of his face had been darkened in color by the sands of the desert. His tunic was also slightly heavy from all the grains that had been caught in it. As he caught sight of his old steed, he smiled, remembering the feeling of freely riding Epona for the first time four years ago. Once Epona caught sight of Link, she also seemed to be very happy.

"It's good to see you again, Epona," Link said quietly to the horse as he untied her reins from a post. This was the first time Link himself would ride Epona while not under duress of some kind. There was definitely a special bond between Link and Epona. It was as if Link could understand what she was thinking and it seemed to work the other way around as well. Epona neighed and stood up on her hind legs in response.

Link chuckled. "I hear you, lets go home," he replied as he got up on Epona's back and turned her toward the bridge that led back to Hyrule Field. Then, he got Epona going. She trotted her way back to the Sacred Forest Meadow, for Link was in no hurry as he arrived just before sunset.

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Orizon entered the royal chamber of Hyrule Castle, which was still undergoing renovations to make it more to Ganondorf's liking. He passed by the last set of imps guarding the chamber and then walked toward the end of the room where he saw Ganondorf sitting.

"Ah, Orizon," Ganondorf greeted as he stood up, "Was Twinrova destroyed?"

"Jonathan had not returned when I left the fortress," Orizon replied, "But your daughter came back safe and sound."

"Without Jonathan?" Ganondorf asked, suddenly confused.

"Yes, but she was with someone I trust," Orizon answered.

Suddenly, Ganondorf had a sneaking suspicion about whom that individual was. "Did she come back with a Sheikah?" he inquired.

Orizon hesitated before he answered. "What difference does it make?" he retorted, "I trust them, and that's all that matters."

"It was Sheik, wasn't it?" Ganondorf asked angrily as he walked toward Orizon.

"And what if it was?" Orizon replied as he prepared to defend himself.

"You know who he really is, don't play dumb with me," Ganondorf threatened as he walked closer to Orizon.

"I will not kill my own flesh and blood, Ganondorf!" Orizon shouted angrily, "Sheikah never kill their own."

"I am your king, and you will do what I order you to do!" Ganondorf roared.

"I am not your puppet, Ganondorf!" Orizon roared back, "I will do what I feel is right, and it is not right for me to kill my own family!"

Ganondorf thought for a few moments about this. It was obvious that Orizon was not budging from his stance. And Ganondorf realized that he shouldn't have expected as much, "Fine," Ganondorf began, "You don't need to kill them. But if you get the opportunity, you had better capture Sheik or Zelda and bring him or her to me. Is that clear?"

Orizon had to think about this. He knew that Ganondorf would be watching him from now on, and that he would be killed if he disobeyed Ganondorf._But if Sheik or Zelda were captured, it would be the perfect opportunity for me if I could get a few more events to fall my way,_ Orizon thought. "Fine, but do not harm either of them," Orizon replied.

"You know I cannot possibly give you that assurance," Ganondorf replied as he began walking back toward his throne, "I must eliminate all members of the royal family to secure this throne for myself. Alazon and Zelda must die. You knew what I would do when you brought me back from the Sacred Realm."

_I did not intend for any of this to happen,_ Orizon thought to himself. He remained silent.

Ganondorf sat down on the throne again. "Do we have an understanding, Orizon?" he asked with an edge in his voice.

"Yes, I understand perfectly," Orizon answered as he turned to leave.

"Remember, if you betray me like this again, I will kill you," Ganondorf reminded.

Orizon did nothing except walk out of the room. _It is only a matter of time, Ganondorf,_ Orizon thought, _Once Jonathan has the other half of the Light Power, you're history. And I can wash away what I have done wrong. It is only a matter of time._

----------

Link walked into the main atrium of the Forest Temple and suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A tingling feeling ran through his entire body. He had felt this feeling before, and it told him that Princess Zelda was nearby. He was about to walk further into the temple when he heard a door open. He looked in the direction of the sound.

"Princess Zelda," Link said walking toward the young woman.

"Link," Zelda replied as she walked toward him. They stopped a foot away from each other. "How did you do?"

"I recovered the portion of the Light Power in the Spirit Temple," Link began, "But Jonathan got his head hurt pretty badly by an Iron Knuckle."

"Will he be okay?" Zelda asked quickly, with a look of great concern in her eyes.

"I think he will be fine," Link replied, "He'll need some time to heal, but he should fully recover."

"Thank goodness," Zelda sighed in relief.

Link hesitated before his next statement. "You love him, don't you?" he inquired.

Zelda looked back at Link suddenly. "Why do you say that?" she asked.

"You had Sheik ask Jonathan if he loves you," Link answered, "Why else would you ask him that?"

Zelda waited a moment before replying to this. "Link, I'm sorry, but we really just weren't meant to be," she replied, "You know that."

"That's not my problem," Link corrected, "It's something else."

"And what is that?" Zelda inquired.

"If you love Jonathan, he ought to learn who Sheik really is," Link replied.

"He doesn't need to know," Zelda answered, shaking her head, "He'll only see Sheik once more and then never see him again. He'll never ask about him again."

"I don't know about that," Link replied, "Jonathan seems like a very curious person. He's going to ask about him."

"I don't know what Jonathan would think of me if I told him the truth about whom Sheik really is," Zelda said, then a look of panic filled her eyes, "You aren't going to tell him, will you?"

"No, I won't," Link assured, "I'll leave that completely up to you. But if you really love him, you should be honest with him."

"I know I should, but I'm afraid of what he'd think of me if he'd ever learn the truth," Zelda pointed out, "I mean, how did you feel when you learned?"

"Of course I was shocked, but I understood why you had hidden the truth from me," Link replied, "This is a totally different situation. You should tell him the truth."

Zelda looked down. "I know," Zelda answered sadly, "But I just can't. Not now."

"Well, that's your decision to make," Link said, "I think it is time for Jonathan to come back." Link then grabbed the Master Sword.

"Link, is that you?" Jonathan asked, still groggy.

"Yes, it's me Jonathan," Link answered, "I'm back in the Forest Temple. Think you can manage to get yourself back to your room?"

"Maybe," Jonathan replied.

"Okay, time for you to return," Link said as suddenly electricity once again raced through Link's body as he transformed back into Jonathan.

"Jonathan, are you alright?" Zelda asked.

"I think I will be," Jonathan replied, his hair a disheveled mess, "I'll need some help getting back to my room, though."

Zelda smiled and grabbed Jonathan's left arm. "Come on, I'll help you," she said as she began to lead Jonathan to his room.

----------

Impa and General Attula had overheard the entire conversation from the second floor balcony in the main atrium. "Well, it looks like she's found a suitable future husband," Attula commented.

Impa found it hard to say anything at this point. On the one hand, she greatly respected Jonathan's ability to learn and his sheer potential for fighting. However, Impa had been watching over Princess Zelda for the princess's entire life. It was indeed hard for her to finally let go of her hold on her niece. And the fact that Jonathan was starting to take advantage of them added an element of betrayal to her mix of emotions. Therefore, she remained silent.

Attula noticed this silence and looked at Impa's face as Zelda and Jonathan left the main atrium and entered Jonathan's courtyard. Attula recognized that Impa must have been really torn at this point. "Impa, you knew this day would come sooner or later," Attula pointed out, "Don't be too upset, Jonathan is a good young man. He will take very good care of Zelda."

"Assuming they survive," Impa added. She knew all too well that survival was never a certainty.

----------

Zelda grabbed Jonathan's right hand as he reached the top of the ladder leading to his room and pulled him up onto the ledge.

"Thanks," Jonathan said, his eyes rolling around slightly in their sockets.

Zelda nodded as she continued to hold Jonathan's right arm. Together, they walked toward the door of Jonathan's room. When they reached it, Zelda opened it with her right hand and they went inside as Zelda guided Jonathan to his bed.

Jonathan sighed as he broke away from Zelda's grip and lay down in his bed. "Thanks for everything, Zelda," he repeated, "In case I didn't tell you that already."

"You've said that about three times," Zelda informed.

Jonathan groaned as he clutched his head with both hands. "Ugh, I definitely have a concussion, then," he commented.

"Will you be okay?" Zelda asked, a look of concern on her face again.

"Yeah, I should be," Jonathan replied, "I'll just need some rest, that's all."

Zelda smiled. "Alright, I'll take your word for it," she said.

"Don't worry about me," Jonathan assured, "I've been through worse and made it out okay."

Zelda nodded, remembering how much of a mess he was a few months ago after going through the Fire and Water Temples on the same day. "Yes, you are a very strong person," she said.

Jonathan chuckled. "I remember this one time when I was in college," he began, "I made a really stupid decision. A couple of my friends and I got together and decided to play football without padding or helmets."

"Football?" Zelda asked perplexed.

"It's a team sport in my world," Jonathan began to explain, "It has two teams and one of the teams tries to get a ball from one end of a field to another without being dragged or pulled to the ground by the other team."

"Sounds like that could be violent," Zelda said.

_You don't know the half of it,_ Jonathan thought. He still couldn't forget seeing Joe Theismann's leg getting shattered by Lawrence Taylor. "Yeah, it can be," Jonathan admitted, "But guys can make really good money playing football in my world. And most of the time you wear protective equipment when playing football."

"But you weren't," Zelda reminded.

Jonathan laughed. "Yeah, I was stupid, and I think I still am," he admitted, "So we were playing football and on one play, I caught a pass and then got dragged to the ground. We were playing on grass, but the dirt underneath was pretty hard stuff. And my head hit the ground really hard. The next thing I remembered was that I was being carried back to my room. It turns out that I had been knocked unconscious for a few minutes and I had a very good cut on the back of my head, not to mention a big bump that took about a month to completely go away."

Zelda looked at Jonathan. She was amused and slightly appalled at Jonathan's past behavior. "And you did this for amusement?" she asked.

With some hesitation, Jonathan nodded his head. "Hey, college was really boring sometimes," he defended himself, "And I learned my lesson. I never played football again except in snow."

Zelda shook her head. "Jonathan, you are a fool," she said, a smile beginning to break across her face.

Jonathan chuckled. "I guess I am," he replied, with a smile spreading across his face as well.

The two of them looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity before Zelda finally lowered her head onto Jonathan's. She pushed her lips against his and the two shared in a kiss that seemed to last twice as long as the moment that preceded it. Both felt like their skin was melting into the other, like they were melding into one being. It was a feeling that was completely alien to both Zelda and Jonathan. It was a feeling both found intoxicating; a feeling both wished could last forever. But both realized that this could not be so.

As Zelda pulled her head up and away from Jonathan's, she could not think of any words to say to Jonathan, so she simply smiled at Jonathan, then turned to leave the room.

"Thank you Zelda," Jonathan said.

Zelda simply nodded as she left the room and closed the door behind her. Having done this, she thought a thought which Jonathan was also thinking at that same moment.

_I've never felt so alive in my life._

_----------_

Author's Notes: Originally, it was my intention in this chapter to reveal Sheik's true identity, but I decided to keep those who have not beaten Ocarina of Time in the dark for a little longer. You will learn the answer, I promise.

Ten chapters left to go.

New chapter next Friday. For now, read, review, and enjoy.


	24. Chapter 23: The Destruction of Kakariko

Author's Notes: Thanks to all the readers out there who read my story in the past week. Special thanks goes out to those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Thanks for your support. And you will see what happens to Jonathan soon enough.

Infernal Flame Zero: Oh, I didn't have Jonathan learning about the truth in the last chapter anyway. Again, if you've beaten Ocarina of Time, you know exactly what Zelda and Link were talking about in the previous chapter. And for those of you who don't know, you will find out within the next two months. And patience is usually a virtue, yes. Thanks for your support.

The Silverdark Knight: Oh, the situation in question is not resolved yet. But once you understand what's really going on, you'll understand why Zelda would want to keep this hidden from Jonathan and that Jonathan's reaction to the truth would be very complicated to describe in detail. Thanks for the support.

And to all the other readers out there, thank you for pushing this story to 2,500 hits and counting!

Time for the next chapter of this story.

**Chapter 23: The Destruction of Kakariko Village**

Jonathan had fully recovered from his injuries sustained inside the Spirit Temple after a week of rest. He was now up and about, appearing as if nothing had ever been wrong with him. Zelda was extremely happy to see this development, but was also shocked that an individual could be perfectly normal after suffering so much damage. It never ceased to shock her how much punishment the body could take and yet recover from it with time. Just a few months ago, she remembered that Jonathan's body was lying in his room, with broken bones and bruises all over his body. And now, he was perfectly healthy again. And he was obviously ready to get the other half of the Light Power.

Zelda was watching Jonathan as he performed what he said were his morning exercises. She couldn't help but laugh at some of the things he was doing, thinking that Jonathan would never need to do such things and that he was working himself too hard. She made her observations known to him.

"That's the point of doing all this training," Jonathan replied as he started to do pushups, "You should always train yourself harder than anything you'll ever encounter in your line of work. That way, you'll be prepared for anything and everything."

Zelda nodded, seeing that Jonathan had a point about that. "So how should I go about my training?" Zelda asked.

Jonathan chuckled. "Well, I'm not sure what being Queen of Hyrule entails," he admitted, "So I really can't tell you how to train for that."

"Oh, all I'll do is prevent wars from breaking out and making sure that all is good in my land," Zelda informed.

"Then negotiation is going to be a big part of your job?" Jonathan inquired.

"Yes, it would be," Zelda replied.

"Then perhaps you should understand the people of Hyrule the best you can," Jonathan suggested as he finished with his pushups and went into a sitting position, "So that you know where everyone is coming from and can best work with their needs."

Zelda nodded, agreeing with that sentiment. "You are a very intelligent person for a fool, Jonathan," Zelda teased.

Jonathan smiled. "I was a writer for a newspaper back in my world, so I tend to know a lot about all sorts of things," he informed.

"What's a newspaper?" Zelda asked.

"It's a publication which is sold to people in my world to tell them about what's going on in their world," Jonathan explained, "And they talk about various things, like politics, sports, lifestyles, entertainment, current events, and others."

"And you wrote about all those things?" Zelda inquired. She was stunned at all Jonathan could do.

He laughed at that question. "No, I just wrote about sports," he corrected, "But you talk a lot with your fellow writers and you tend to learn a lot about what they write about too." Jonathan never thought of himself as a very intelligent person. He had a passion for sports, but since he wasn't athletic enough to be an athlete, he turned to writing about athletes, which was the next best thing. But working with the other writers of _The Union Leader_ really taught him things that he'd never learn in college.

Zelda nodded as she stood up from her sitting position. She knew it was nearly midday by this point and she had things to do. "Well Jonathan, as much as I want to stay here and watch you all day," she began with a smile, "I have other things to do now. So I will see you later."

Jonathan nodded back, also smiling as he watched Zelda walk out of the room. _I should have kissed her before she left,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _Well, I'll make up for that later._

----------

About an hour later, King Alazon returned to the Forest Temple after talking to the Kokiri about the Festival of Seasons, which was coming up in just five days. The Festival of Seasons was celebrated every year when the summer finally changed into fall in Hyrule. On the day of the Festival of Seasons, all the races of Hyrule ceased in whatever hostilities they had with each other and joined together for a day of celebration, capped off with a night of dancing on Hyrule Field. It was a celebration that everyone looked forward to and had never been skipped in living memory, although armed soldiers were present at the festival events during times of hostilities.

Despite the fact that Ganondorf was growing more powerful by the day, Alazon had made it clear to all the peoples of Hyrule that the festival would still go on as usual. And so preparations were being made all over the land. Ganondorf knew that the festival was coming up and had already made it clear that he had no interest in participating in the festival. Moreover, he also said he would not interfere with anything having to do with the festival, including the preparations. The moment they had heard that, both Zelda and her father realized the opportunity Ganondorf was basically handing them. They could finally come out of hiding as long as they were helping to "prepare" the festival events.

And for the past week, Princess Zelda and King Alazon had been traveling around Hyrule in broad daylight, mostly helping prepare the events of the Festival of Seasons. Under that guise, however, they had been forming stronger alliances with the various races of Hyrule, making sure that once Ganondorf was eliminated, all the people would fall back in line with Alazon. Wanting to take no chances, Zelda had even traveled to the Gerudo Fortress herself to help "prepare" their festival events (which included what Jonathan would call fireworks). Zelda came back from the valley with a big smile on her face. The Gerudo would be on Alazon's side all the way, for they were thoroughly sick and tired of living under Ganondorf's shadow. And his betrayal of Queen Nabooru so many years ago was forever unacceptable and unforgivable.

King Alazon was planning to go to Hyrule's south tomorrow, to visit the provinces of Faron and Ordona, to help with their celebrations. Meanwhile, Zelda was about to leave for Kakariko Village to help them. Accompanying her would be Impa and Jonathan. Impa was a native of the village and would be helping Zelda with preparing the celebration events, providing a smoke screen of sorts for Jonathan.

"So, while you and Impa are helping the villagers prepare for the festival, I'm going to sneak into the graveyard, enter the Shadow Temple, and find the other half of the Light Power hidden there, do I get that right?" Jonathan, once again wearing the green tunic and the rest of his fighting accessories, asked Zelda as they and Impa were walking toward the entrance of the Forest Temple.

Zelda nodded. "Ganondorf will never know a thing if this goes off without a hitch," she remarked.

Jonathan thought for a moment about the plan. "Maybe I'm just kinda worried, but I don't like that name 'Shadow Temple'," he said, "What sort of things are in that place?"

"The temple is filled with many traps," Impa informed, "But your special goggles will help you avoid those traps. There are no evil beings in the temple, so you should be in and out of the Shadow Temple within two hours with the Light Power."

"And then I destroy Ganondorf shortly after this festival is over and we take back Hyrule Castle," Jonathan finished.

"And finally, you must decide after that if you want to go back home," Zelda pointed out.

Jonathan chuckled at that. "By then that should be an easy choice to make for me," he said as he put his hands behind his head as they walked outside into the light. Just ahead of them were King Alazon and his personal guard.

"Father, how did your day go?" Zelda asked her father as Jonathan and Impa gave the king a salute.

"Very good, like always," Alazon replied as he dismounted from his white-haired horse, "The Kokiri are always a reasonable group of beings. Unfortunately, the Great Deku Tree won't allow any of the Kokiri to leave the forest for the ending celebrations on Hyrule Field. He stressed that as long as Ganondorf's minions are watching, no Kokiri can leave the forest."

"A pity, but the festival must go on regardless," Zelda remarked, "Impa, Jonathan and I are going to Kakariko Village to help prepare for the festival events there. We should be back by nightfall."

Alazon nodded as he walked toward Impa and Jonathan. "Make sure my daughter doesn't get into too much trouble," he told them just loud enough to be barely heard by Zelda.

"Father!" Zelda exclaimed as she turned back toward Alazon with a smile on her face.

Jonathan smiled as well. "Yes sir, I won't let you down," he replied.

"We won't let you down, sir," Impa corrected, her face still straight.

Zelda shook her head as she watched her father and his guard walk back into the safety of the Forest Temple.

"Don't be too upset, Princess Zelda," Jonathan remarked as he and Impa approached her, making sure he didn't draw Impa's anger, "That just means your father cares about you. Trust me. My parents did that to me all the time."

Zelda nodded as she turned around again. "Well, lets be off," she said as she led the way out of the Lost Woods, through the Kokiri Forest, and out onto Hyrule Field.

----------

Like always, Ganondorf's imps were keeping guard from the walls of Hyrule Castle Town. Ever since the imps had allowed Link and Zelda to escape the town alive (Ganondorf still had no idea it was Orizon who dropped the drawbridge and let the two escape), the evil king made sure that the guard was always on its toes. Included in the new routines was a weekly visit from King Ganondorf himself, and today was one of those days. The imps were shaking in their armor as they felt his presence come close.

"Have you seen anything unusual so far today?" Ganondorf asked the leader of the guard.

"A couple did go skipping across the field toward Lake Hylia this morning," the imp replied, "But other than that, nothing."

"No sightings of Alazon or Zelda?" the king inquired.

"No sir," the imp answered. He hesitated before saying his next piece. "Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted," Ganondorf replied immediately. He had a good idea of what the guard would say next.

"Sir, with all due respect," the imp began, "You have wasted opportunities to do away with King Alazon and Princess Zelda over the past week. They are not preparing for the Festival of Seasons; they are gathering resistance against you. They are planning a revolt. You must do away with those two when you get the chance. You know they aren't preparing for the festival."

Ganondorf nodded his head in agreement. "I understand your point of view," he responded, "But you must understand what this festival means to the peoples of Hyrule. This event is looked forward to all year. All wars are suspended for this. Interference with the festival is unthinkable and a cause for war. I know you don't understand all of this, but we cannot interfere unless we can prove that they are up to no good. And trust me, I am working on that end."

As Ganondorf approached another guard keeping watch over Hyrule Field, he saw the guard suddenly reach down and grab his telescope and stared out toward the entrance to Kokiri Forest. Initially, this annoyed Ganondorf, who thought the imp was just trying to put on the front that he was intent on his job, meaning he really wasn't. But then the king saw the guard's jaw drop in surprise and he suddenly realized that it was no front; the imp saw something important.

"What is it, soldier?" Ganondorf asked the imp.

"I may be wrong, your majesty," the imp began, still looking through the telescope at Hyrule Field, "But I think I see your adversary, Princess Zelda!"

Ganondorf wasn't surprised that Zelda was out on Hyrule Field; for the past week that had been an almost daily occurrence. He was surprised by the fact that he happened to be in a position to see her. "Give me your telescope!" Ganondorf ordered the imp.

The guard immediately complied and handed over the telescope to the evil king. Ganondorf peered through it, looking toward the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. Sure enough, there she was, Princess Zelda, along with Impa on one side and Jonathan, the young man he had encountered twice before, on her other side.

"What should we do your majesty?" the leader of the guard asked.

"Keep watching and see where they go, of course," he answered, still looking at the group he despised so much.

----------

Jonathan and Zelda were carrying on in conversation as Impa remained on watch for anything unusual or dangerous to attack them.

"So, traditionally, the rulers of Hyrule dance the night away on Hyrule Field on the night of the Festival of Seasons?" Jonathan asked Zelda as the group entered Hyrule Field.

"Yes, traditionally," Zelda replied, looking a little sad, "But my father will have no one to dance with this time."

"Well, what happens in this case?" Jonathan inquired.

"Usually, if the ruler of Hyrule has no partner to dance with, their oldest child dances in the ruler's place," Impa replied, "But I don't think Zelda will dance either."

Zelda nodded. "I have no partner to dance with," she explained with a frown on her face.

Jonathan knew that Zelda thought she was letting people down by being unable to fulfill her royal duties. "Why can't you find a dance partner?" he asked.

"Well, it's not as if she can dance with just anyone," Impa pointed out, "She needs to dance with someone very close to her, such as her husband, if she had one."

_Like you'd allow any guy to get anywhere close to Zelda,_ Jonathan thought to himself as he turned his head toward Hyrule Castle Town and caught a brief, small flash of light from the top of the wall surrounding the town, _We're being watched. I'd better let Impa know._ "Impa, I'd like to talk to you about something privately," he requested.

The group stopped moving as Impa and Jonathan walked a short distance away from Zelda. "Jonathan, unless I am missing something, you cannot . . . " she began, thinking Jonathan was going to ask if he could dance with her niece.

"That's not what this is about," Jonathan said quickly, "I'm certain we're being watched right now."

Impa was caught off guard by those words. She was sure that she would be aware of such a thing before Jonathan was. "How do you know that?" she inquired.

"Don't look," he requested, "But I saw a small flash of light from to top of a tower that surrounds Hyrule Castle Town. Someone is watching us through a telescope or something like that from that tower."

_I've trained him well,_ Impa thought to herself. "You have sharp eyes Jonathan," she replied, "And a sharp mind as well."

"Thanks," Jonathan said, "That's all I wanted to tell you."

"Try not to make it seem like we know they're watching us," Impa ordered as the two began walking back toward Zelda.

----------

"Perhaps the young man said something he shouldn't have," one of the imps said as the three people they were watching began walking south on Hyrule Field again, "That Impa is known to be very protective of Zelda."

"I don't know about that," Ganondorf replied, "I've met that young man before. He isn't the kind of person who easily offends others, especially his own leader. Perhaps he knows we're watching them."

"How, your highness?" the imp asked, "He's too far away to see us."

Ganondorf sighed as he handed the telescope back to the imp he took it from. "If they are helping to prepare for the festival, there is nothing we can do," he said, "They appear to be on their way to Kakariko Village this time." He turned to look at the village he had just mentioned.

Immediately, he knew something was wrong. Smoke was rising from the village._That's odd,_ Ganondorf through to himself as he turned away and continued walking down the fortress rampart.

----------

As Jonathan led the way to Kakariko Village, he too noticed the column of smoke rising from the village. As he began to think about what might possibly be going on, he heard a loud blast just as he saw a pillar of fire rising into the air where the smoke had been rising from. The three members of the group stopped immediately in stunned silence, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Death Mountain must be erupting," Jonathan suggested.

"That blast was too close to be from Death Mountain," Impa informed, "If it was Death Mountain, the blast would have taken longer to reach us. That blast came from Kakariko Village itself."

"We have to hurry!" Zelda exclaimed as they started running toward the staircase that led up to the village. As they ran up the staircase into the village, all three realized that something was very wrong. An orange glow was coming from the village and they could hear burning fires. As Jonathan entered the village itself, he was horrified by what he saw. Most of the buildings in the village were on fire, and some were almost completely engulfed in flames. He also heard screaming from ahead of him. Looking ahead, he saw a young girl screaming for help. Immediately, something in Jonathan's mind clicked, and he ran forward as fast as he could to help her.

"Someone, help me!" the girl kept crying.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked as soon as he reached the girl.

"My father is trapped inside my house!" the girl shouted as she pointed to a house that was almost completely engulfed in flames, "He's going to die! Please help him!"

Without thinking about his own well-being or safety, Jonathan immediately looked for a way to get into the burning house. His eyes quickly caught sight of a window on a side of the house that wasn't burning yet. He took his shield off his back and used it to smash the window so that he could enter the house. After getting through the window feet-first, he looked around, shielding his eyes from the flames that now surrounded him. After a few seconds, he caught sight of a figure lying face up on the floor. Immediately, he rushed over to the figure, who was the man the little girl was screaming about. Having no time to check him, he lifted the man, who weighed a bit more than Jonathan did, and set him on his right shoulder as he looked around again for an exit. He saw that the door was burning, but he had no other choice. He pulled his shield onto his left arm and ran as fast as he could for the door, keeping the shield in front of him. As Jonathan made contact with the door, the door shattered outwards as the shield burst through and Jonathan ran outside, where it was now raining.

"Daddy!" the girl shouted as she ran over to Jonathan as he let the man off his shoulder and lay him down face up on the ground. He put his hands on his chest to resuscitate him, but Jonathan felt his chest moving up and down slightly. He was still breathing.

"Your father will be okay," Jonathan assured as he stood up and looked around again, "Do you know if anyone else here needs help?"

The girl shook her head. Jonathan was about to start looking around again when he heard Zelda's voice calling to him. He turned around and saw Zelda standing by a tree with her ocarina in her right hand.

"Jonathan, what happened here?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "But most of the houses in the village were on fire when I got here. But it looks like this rain is getting the fires under control. Hey, where did this rain come from, anyway?"

"I used my ocarina to summon it," Zelda answered, "And what exactly were you thinking when you went into that building?"

Jonathan had to think about that for a moment. "I was just trying to save someone. That's all," he replied as Impa entered the village with a slight limp in her left leg, "I wasn't really thinking at all."

"Weren't you afraid?" Zelda inquired.

Again, Jonathan had to think, not because he didn't know the answer, but because the answer made no sense. "No, I wasn't afraid," he replied, "Not one bit."

What Jonathan didn't know was that the Triforce of Courage does not allow its wielders to feel fear.

----------

It took about an hour to get everything under control in Kakariko Village. The man Jonathan pulled from the burning house, a Horonian named Steven, had regained consciousness shortly after he was carried out of his house. No one else had been hurt by the flames, as most of the residents of the village were in Hyrule Castle Town gathering with family members and relatives. Those who were in Kakariko Village at the time of the fire were almost completely unscathed, save for Steven.

"It looks like we'll be preparing for a big repair job instead of a festival," Jonathan commented to Zelda and Impa after they had surveyed all the damage that had occurred in the village.

"Lets just try to figure out what happened here," Impa said, "Now, it appears the buildings around the well took the most damage, including Steven's house."

"You think the well had something to do with this?" Jonathan asked.

"Impa, you don't think Bongo Bongo escaped, do you?" Zelda asked her caretaker.

"It's possible," Impa replied, "Perhaps Steven will know something." She then walked toward the man Jonathan had saved, who was now standing next to his devastated house with his wife, Megan, and his daughter Teresa.

"Jonathan, what you did today was a very brave thing," Zelda said once Impa was away from her and Jonathan, "You saved that man's life."

Jonathan blushed and couldn't look at Zelda. "I just did what I thought was the right thing to do, that's all," he replied, trying to sincerely downplay his heroism.

Zelda thought about something for a long moment. "Jonathan, do you know how to dance?" she asked.

Jonathan was caught off guard by that question. "Dance?" Jonathan said in a startled way, "Well, a little bit. Why?"

"I want you to dance with me at the Festival of Seasons," she replied simply.

Jonathan was dumbstruck for a moment. "Well, Zelda," he started, "I'd love to, but Impa wouldn't be very happy with that."

Zelda smiled. "Don't worry about Impa; I'll deal with her."

"Well, in that case, I will have this dance," Jonathan replied with a nervous smile on his face, "Assuming we survive that long."

"Yes, you still have to go through the Shadow Temple to get the other half of the Light Power," Zelda reminded him, "But you'll have Link with you, so I don't think you'll have many problems in there."

"Hopefully not," Jonathan agreed as Impa came back to them, still with a slight limp in her left leg from falling down a set of stairs.

"From what Steven told me, there was a loud noise of some kind that came from the well," Impa explained, "And then the fires began. It seems like Bongo Bongo has escaped."

"What's that?" Jonathan asked.

"Bongo Bongo is a demon whom we have imprisoned underneath the well in this village," Zelda answered, "Do we know where it went?"

"Megan happened to be in the graveyard at that time and said she saw a strange shape enter the Shadow Temple," Impa answered.

Jonathan sighed upon hearing that. "Let me guess," he began, "My life just got a whole lot harder."

"Unfortunately, it seems that way," Impa replied, "Nevertheless, you have to get the Light Power. You cannot defeat Ganondorf without it."

Jonathan nodded his head. "Well, someone lead me where I need to go," he requested.

"I will help the villagers begin rebuilding the village," Impa stated, "Princess Zelda will take you to the Shadow Temple entrance."

Zelda nodded her head. "Follow me Jonathan," she said as she began walking to the northeastern section of the settlement. While they were walking, Jonathan checked his person to make sure he had everything he would need. By the time he was satisfied he had everything he would need, he saw that they were already in a graveyard and were walking toward the northern end of the graveyard.

"Up there," Zelda said as she pointed up to a fence about 20 feet above where Jonathan and Zelda were standing, "On that ledge is the entrance to the Shadow Temple."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later," Jonathan replied as he grabbed his longshot and used it to grapple onto the fence and climbed over it and walked into the dark corridors of the Shadow Temple.

----------

Author's Notes: As you can guess, we've got a dungeon to go through next week.

Nine chapters to go.

New chapter next Friday. Until then, please read, review, and enjoy.


	25. Chapter 24: Dark Descent

Author's Notes: Once again, a big thanks to all of you who read my story in the past week. And a special thanks to those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Eh, I didn't find Bongo Bongo too hard to beat. We'll see whether you are right or not, but Jonathan has to get through the dungeon first. Thanks for the support.

NUTCASE71733: Well, I'm glad that you did find this story and that you are enjoying it. Thanks for the support.

cktedmon: Well, you will now see what happens next. Thanks for the support.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, most rules can be bent when the situation calls for it. If Jonathan gets through the Shadow Temple, we'll see just how close he and Zelda have become. Thanks for your support.

The Silverdark Knight: Thanks for your compliments and your support. And of course Ganondorf has some sense of honor. And attacking during this festival is just one of the things you don't do. It's more than taboo, it's practically unthinkable. And he respects Jonathan as an adversary. On the field of battle, he would kill Jonathan, but warriors always have some kind of deep respect for those they face in battle. It's something that has been lost in our times as we now use GPS and laser-guided missiles and rockets to kill our enemies without even seeing them.

And the upsets continue in college football. This is getting ridiculous. All I can say is, go Hawaii!

And now it is time for another dungeon quest.

**Chapter 24: Dark Descent**

As Jonathan entered the dark, dreary atmosphere of the Shadow Temple, he immediately felt a foreboding presence all around him. It was as if something inside was trying to tell him to leave while he still could. Despite this, Jonathan knew that leaving now was not an option. He had to press on and find the second half of the Light Power. Still, Jonathan would prefer to be almost anywhere besides this place, with its damp stone walls that echoed the sound of his footfalls eerily and its poor illumination.

_This place is right out of a horror movie,_ Jonathan thought to himself as he moved forward through this corridor slowly, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure no clawed hands or machetes were appearing. Suddenly, he felt something on his belt vibrating. Looking down, the Stone of Voices, which he had not used outside of translating purposes since he had gone through the Fire Temple, was glowing and vibrating. He grabbed the stone from its slot in the belt and heard Zelda's voice.

"Jonathan, you still have those goggles that Princess Chale gave you, right?" she asked Jonathan.

"Yeah, I got . . . ," Jonathan replied, trailing off as he realized something about what Zelda just asked, "Hey, when did you learn about those?" He had not told Zelda about the special goggles, and she had not been with him in the desert.

"Sheik told me about them," Zelda replied after a slight pause, "And you're going to need them in that place. There are lots of false walls you'll need to go through and holes in the floor that you can't see without those goggles. You'll need them to navigate through that dungeon."

"Alright, thanks for telling me that," Jonathan answered, her answer being satisfactory to his inquiry.

"Be careful Jonathan," Zelda cautioned.

"I will," Jonathan said as he put the stone away and continued to walk forward into the temple. He went through a bend in the corridor to the right and came across a gap in the floor. Looking across the gap, he saw a soft patch of dirt. Using his longshot, he grappled across the gap and climbed up onto the other side, only to find himself face-to-face with a wall.

"Ah great," he muttered, "A dead end." He put his right hand on the wall as he contemplated falling into the gap he just crossed. _Maybe the way forward is down . . . ,_ he thought as his right hand touched the wall.

Except his right hand never found a wall. Startled, Jonathan turned back to look at the wall and found that his right hand was now inside the wall but that he could still move it around at will. "What's this?" he asked himself as he pulled the goggles on his head over his eyes. When he did this, Jonathan saw that there was no wall. It was an illusion. Slightly amused by this, he walked into the next room, where he saw a crescent-shaped object attached to a post in the middle of the room. Surrounding that post were several other posts, one of which had a skull with a torch burning inside of it. Taking off the goggles, Jonathan suddenly saw that all the outer posts had skulls with burning torches at their tops. Putting the goggles back on, he again saw just one torch.

_Alright, that torch is probably important for some reason,_ Jonathan thought as he walked up to the crescent-shaped object and leaned against it, thinking about what he would do next. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound and realized he was moving. Standing up straight again, he realized that he could move the crescent around like a lever. Looking back up to where the post with the skull torch was, Jonathan began pushing the crescent around so that it pointed toward the real skull torch. Once he had put the object in the correct position, he saw the metal grating in front of a doorway on the opposite side of the room rise into the ceiling. As he walked toward that door, Jonathan saw that there was a wide pit between himself and that doorway, which rested in the mouth of a bird that was carved into the wall. There was a narrow platform coming out from the doorway, forming the bird's tongue, but Jonathan saw that he would have to jump at least 20 feet in order to just grab onto that ledge. It was a jump he could not perform, and there was nothing for the longshot to grab onto on that side of the wall.

Suddenly, Jonathan recalled something Sheik had told him at the Gerudo Fortress. He remembered that Sheik said something about being able to walk in midair if his feet were light. _It's worth a shot, I guess,_ he thought as he willed his feet to be light. Once he was sure that they were light, Jonathan tentatively lowered his left foot until it reached the same level as his other foot. He tried to push it down lower, but he was not able to. It was as if an invisible platform was holding his foot up.

Satisfied that this could work, Jonathan walked back from the edge of the gap in order to get a running start. He then ran at full speed and ran out over the pit. Indeed, he was able to walk in midair for a short time. Once he was close enough to the other platform, he jumped and reached the bird's tongue easily. Not bothering looking back, Jonathan walked forward, deeper into the Shadow Temple.

----------

In Kakariko Village, Impa and Zelda were already working on helping the villagers rebuild the settlement. Though they realized that there wasn't much they could really do, they were going to do what they could. At the moment, they were going around the village, taking a count of what supplies and items that were needed to rebuild, since they couldn't count on Ganondorf helping anyone out for much longer.

"It seems like there isn't as much to rebuild here as we thought there would be," Zelda commented as she looked at the list that was nearly finished, "The houses closest to the well need quite a bit of work, but other than that, the rain kept the fires set by the explosion from spreading too far."

"That was very quick thinking on your part to use the Song of Storms," Impa commended.

Zelda nodded as they approached the ruined well in the middle of the village. "It seems that the explosion went upwards more than it went outward," she commented, "And the windmill wasn't even touched. The well has to be completely rebuilt, though."

"Don't worry, I know some good carpenters and stone masons," Impa replied, "Kakariko will survive this."

Zelda paused before she continued with a different topic. "Impa," she began, "I want to dance with Jonathan."

Impa quickly turned and looked at Zelda. Initially, she looked a little too low and had to angle her head up to look at Zelda in the eyes. "Jonathan asked you about this, didn't he?" she asked in a slightly intimidating manner.

Zelda shook her head. "I asked him, not the other way around," she corrected, "Impa, the reason why you looked low when you turned to look at me just now was because you still think of me as a little girl. I'm not a little girl anymore, Impa." Impa had done this before, but Zelda was not going to back down this time.

Impa knew what Zelda was saying was true. She still sometimes looked upon Zelda as a young girl, even after twenty-one years. "Why are you even asking me about this?" she inquired, "If you aren't a child anymore, why do you need to ask for permission?"

Zelda thought for a moment about that question. "I guess we both have old habits to break before we can grow up," she finally replied with a smile. Impa and her niece shared a good laugh with that response.

----------

Jonathan looked up as he entered the next corridor. He immediately saw a big spider hanging from the ceiling of the room. _Ugh, not these guys again,_ Jonathan thought as he pulled out his longshot, aimed, and fired at the spider, killing it instantly. Jonathan starting walking forward again when all of a sudden, he heard a strange sound. Looking up, he saw the falling blade of a guillotine. He quickly stepped back, even though he saw he wasn't standing right under it. The guillotine blade stretched across the entire floor of the corridor. Looking forward, he saw more big spiders and more guillotines ahead of him. Jonathan used his longshot to deal with those spiders, and then made a mad dash through the corridor to beat the falling blades of the guillotines. _Talk about a close shave,_ he thought.

Entering the next room, Jonathan was in another corridor with three guillotines ready to fall on him. Getting ready to run again, Jonathan heard another strange sound from above him. Looking up, he saw a darkened, withered hand falling on top of him. He rolled away just in time to avoid the hand. "Thing, what happened to you?" Jonathan asked as a joke as he ran down the corridor at full speed, again avoiding all the guillotine blades. Jonathan saw a platform below him within jumping distance, so he jumped onto the platform. Suddenly, he heard a wolf's howl and saw an enemy he recognized from a lesson with Impa. A wolfos jumped onto the platform and began running around Jonathan. Quickly, Jonathan got his shield strapped onto his left arm and pulled out his sword. Jonathan put up his defenses, waiting for his enemy to attack. Sure enough, the wolfos stopped and tried to swipe at Jonathan with its paw. Jonathan blocked the strike, and then quickly stabbed his enemy's exposed body. Wounded, the wolfos howled and reeled in pain. Jonathan then rushed in and struck the creature again and again, killing the beast in a matter of moments, its blood splattering over Jonathan's shield, sword, legs and face.

After sheathing his sword but keeping his shield out, Jonathan looked around and suddenly saw a platform fall to his level nearby. Quickly, Jonathan ran over and jumped onto the platform, which started to rise into the air. In front of him, Jonathan saw another platform with a beamos in the middle and several spike traps circling around the platform. Once the moving platform stopped rising through the air, Jonathan jumped onto the larger platform and ran for the door on the other side, avoiding the spike traps and the laser beam that the beamos fired at him. He made to the door unscathed, but Jonathan realized that he couldn't live a long life tempting the odds like this. _Being a hero is going to get me killed one of these days,_ he reasoned.

In this new room, Jonathan saw a brown block embedded in the wall to his right. Moving forward in the room, he heard the next trap before he saw it clearly. He saw two separate plates with spikes rising and falling from the ceiling. Jonathan saw that he could not run fast enough to make it through the trap without getting skewered, crushed, and thoroughly killed. But then he remembered the block in the wall he saw earlier. _Maybe I could use that somehow,_ Jonathan thought as he jogged back to the block and pulled it out of the wall. He then pushed it into position so that he could push the block under the spiked platforms. That done, he pushed the block toward the spiked platforms, hoping that would stop the platforms from crushing him. He pushed the block under the platform and, indeed, it stopped the platform from hitting the ground.

"Perfect," Jonathan said as he continued pushing the block forward until it jammed up the second spiked platform as well as the first. Jonathan could now freely walk underneath them. "That was too easy," Jonathan remarked as he brushed his hands together a few times and continued on his way.

----------

Impa stood behind the windmill in Kakariko Village, as Zelda was going to the graveyard. Impa recognized that this was a time that Zelda needed to be alone for, so she stayed behind and informed those who were coming back to the village of what had happened while they were gone. She was confident that nothing would happen to Zelda in the graveyard. _She can call on Jonathan for help if she needs it,_ she thought, _And this village harbors no enemies of ours._

Suddenly, Impa felt that she was no longer alone, and that a familiar person was standing right behind her. She knew exactly who it was. "I wondered how long it would take for you to show up," she remarked as she turned around to face her former mentor.

"I see your senses are still as sharp as ever," Orizon complemented as he walked next to his former apprentice, "I trained you well Impa."

Impa nodded as she looked at Orizon square in the eyes. "What are your intentions, Orizon?" she asked.

"What do you think?" Orizon replied, "Why don't you try to figure it out. It's not that hard."

"Well, you're obviously not on Ganondorf's side," she began, "And you want the Triforce. Other than that, I'm not sure what you're after. And I have no idea why you would stand aside as my sister was killed by that evil Gerudo."

The mention of the late queen obviously struck Orizon hard. As a Sheikah, it was one of Orizon's duties by birth to protect the Hylian Royal Family from any harm. Not only did he allow Queen Eleza to be killed, but he was the one who effectively caused her death. "Impa, you know that I never intended that to happen," he explained.

"Then what were you trying to do?" Impa demanded to know, "What did you think would happen? What did you want to happen?"

"I was trying to destroy Ganondorf for good," Orizon explained.

Impa looked at Orizon incredulously. "By bringing him back to this world?" Impa inquired.

"Yes," Orizon answered, "Because I thought that the Hero of Time was simply in hiding. By bringing Ganondorf back to this world, I thought that Link would come out of hiding and would find Ganondorf and destroy him once and for all. Besides, you know that with the Triforce, Ganondorf would have eventually broken out of the Sacred Realm with a little outside help. I did what I did to give us a fight on our terms."

"The problem was that Link never showed up until it was too late," Impa said.

Orizon nodded his head. "Basically, that's correct," he affirmed.

"Then what do you intend to do with the Triforce?" Impa asked.

Orizon smiled and replied, "Once I get it, you'll like what I have in mind, I think. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pay my respects." He then turned and began walking away from Impa.

"You're going to the graveyard?" she asked quickly.

"Zelda is there, isn't she?" Orizon inquired as he turned back to face Impa again, "Don't worry, I can't touch her. Remember. You're preparing for the festival." He then winked his left eye as he smiled and turned around again, walking away toward the graveyard near the village.

That left Impa standing there behind the windmill. Although many things had been cleared up by what Orizon had just told her, she still did not know what Orizon intended to do with the Triforce once he got it. But she was certain he would get it. Orizon had this all planned out now, and he wasn't going to fail.

----------

Jonathan was continuing through the Shadow Temple when he suddenly began to feel a breeze of some sort against him as he continued forward. He knew that he was too far down in the dungeon to be approaching some opening to the world above, so he had no idea where this breeze was coming from. As he walked through another dark corridor, he started to hear a familiar sound. And when he turned a corner in the corridor, he saw what that familiar sound was coming from.

In front of him now, he saw a corridor with panels removed from the walls on both sides. In most of these panels were placed large fans that started and stopped about every five seconds. As Jonathan began walking forward through the corridor, he suddenly got caught in the breeze of the first fan and was quickly pushed against the wall opposite the fan. _Wow, these fans are really powerful,_ Jonathan thought as the fan started to slow down, _I need more weight if I want to get through this corridor in one piece._ Thinking back to when he was using his light feet to get through parts of the dungeon earlier, he decided to make his feet heavy. Sure enough, when the next fan blast came, Jonathan was able to stand upright, his feet seemingly rooted to the floor. Slowly, Jonathan waddled forward through the fan corridor until to his left he noticed a gap in the corridor wall that didn't have a fan set in it, but that there was a fan on the opposite wall from where this empty gap was. Looking out into the gap, Jonathan saw a platform in the distance, but it was too far for him to jump, even with the aid of light feet, which he found out earlier would not let him hover over gaps forever.

_I'd need to move really fast in order to get close enough to jump onto that platform before the hover effect gives out,_ he realized, _And I can't run that fast._ Just then, the fan behind him started blowing again. Suddenly, he got an idea. _Maybe I can use the fan with my light feet in order to move more quickly over the gap,_ he thought as he waited for the fan to stop moving again. After about five seconds, the fan had stopped. Jonathan switched his feet from heavy to light and got ready to make yet another mad dash. Just as he heard the fan start up again, he started running toward the platform he needed to get to. As he reached the edge of the gap, he felt the wind behind him taking effect, pushing him forward at a high speed, aided by the fact that his light feet had very little traction with the ground. As he stepped out onto the gap, a timer began in his head, telling him when he would have to jump for the platform. However, it soon was clear to Jonathan that the fan wasn't having as much of an effect as he thought it would. As the timer in his head closed in on zero, the ledge of the platform was still a little farther away that Jonathan wanted it to be. _Screw it, I gotta jump now!_ he quickly realized as he jumped at the final moment for the platform. As he came down, he reached out and was able to grab the edge of the platform. He quickly pulled himself up onto the platform. "That was too close," he muttered as he continued on his way into the Shadow Temple.

Soon, Jonathan found himself in a room with a stream of water nearby. In the water, he saw a wooden ship that appeared ready to set sail, even though it had no sails rigged or any other way Jonathan could see that would make it move, except maybe a current in the water. Looking around on dry land, he soon caught sight of a wooden ladder that was out of reach to Jonathan at the moment, a gold crest on the ground beneath the ladder, and a large brown block nearby. Getting an idea, Jonathan walked over to the block and moved it onto the gold crest. He then jumped on top of the block and once he stood up, Jonathan found that he could now reach the ladder. Once he climbed to the top, he found that he could jump onto the ship from here. Deciding that there was no other choice at the moment, Jonathan jumped onto the ship's deck and looked around. Nearby was an old-fashioned helm, including a large wheel with spokes on the outside. "This is like one of those old pirate ships," Jonathan said as he walked over to the helm and began playing around with the wheel, "I always wanted to use one of these." With a big smile on his face, he spun the wheel to the right as if he wanted to turn the ship around immediately. Suddenly, Jonathan fell down on the deck when a big jerk ran through the ship. Looking up, he saw that the ship was now moving down the stream it was floating on.

"Well, I guess that's another rule to add to my adventuring guide," Jonathan commented to himself as he stood up, "When all else fails, find something movable and move it." Before Jonathan could look forward at where he was going, he heard a howl from behind him. Looking back, he saw that two wolfos were now waiting to pounce on him. "Shit!" Jonathan exclaimed as he got his shield up and pulled his sword out to fight the beasts, who jumped down onto the main deck and began to circle around Jonathan. Jonathan soon realized that he couldn't attack one of the beasts without leaving himself completely vulnerable to the other, so he could not attack at all, even when he was attacked by his enemies. However, after another shudder went through the ship about two minutes later, the wolfos stopped and jumped off the ship.

"Why did they do that?" Jonathan asked himself. As he looked around, he saw the reason why. He saw that the water level was closer to him now than it was before and the ship had stopped moving forward. "The ship is sinking!" he yelled as he looked around for some dry land to escape to. To his left, he caught sight of a stretch of solid ground. As he began running for shore, however, the ship began to roll toward the platform, tossing Jonathan overboard, but onto dry land. Slightly dazed, he stood up and watched as the ship he was just on sunk under the surface of the water. "Falling blocks with spikes and sinking ships?" he asked himself with bemusement, "This place just keeps getting more ridiculous by the moment."

----------

In the graveyard to the north of Kakariko Village, Princess Zelda was kneeling before the largest tombstone in the area, which was dedicated to the members of the Hylian Royal Family who had died in the past. While they weren't always buried here, this was where their memories were honored by all the peoples of Hyrule. With tears in her eyes, Zelda placed a bundle of red and white flowers at the base of the tombstone.

"Hello Mother," she said softly to the stone, "I hope you're doing well now. Father is feeling very good right now, considering what has happened in the past year, but he misses you very much. Impa misses you too, though she doesn't really show it much. Things are looking up for us, now that Jonathan has been helping us so much. He's a nice young man. I'm sure you would like him quite a bit."

Talking to this gravestone did not seem odd at all to Zelda, although it might have seemed that way to others. Zelda felt that here, she had some connection to her late mother here that she had nowhere else. She felt that her mother's spirit truly was here, listening to her and replying to what she had to say. However, Zelda knew that her mother was no longer in this realm of existence and that she never would return, outside of divine intervention of some kind which Zelda wasn't going to rely upon.

However, all of a sudden, Zelda felt another presence nearby, and this one was not as welcome as the one she had felt before. "I'm sorry," she heard a familiar voice from behind her say.

Sighing, she stood up and then turned around to look at Orizon. "I know you are," she replied, "But words won't bring her back."

Orizon nodded. "I made a mistake in judgement, I must admit that," he replied as he walked closer to the woman he had been told to capture on sight, "But I swear to you, Zelda, I will make it up to you."

Suddenly, with those words, Zelda realized why Orizon sought the Triforce. And she felt that she should have known what he was up to all along these past three months. _How could I have been so stupid all this time?_ she asked herself.

----------

As Jonathan entered a new room, he immediately noticed that the room was almost pitch black. The only light in the room came from an unearthly blue glow from the floor in the middle of the room. Suddenly, he heard Link speaking to him again.

"Jonathan, I feel an evil presence nearby," Link informed him, "Perhaps you should let me take over from here."

"I agree," Jonathan replied, "Considering that you have defeated Bongo Bongo before." As he finished, Jonathan switched his shield to his right arm and grabbed the hilt of the Master Sword with his left hand. Immediately, lightning coursed through his body, changing Jonathan into Link. Drawing the Master Sword, Link stepped forward and looked down at the floor. The blue glow was coming from a hole in the floor that led down even deeper into the ground. With no hesitation, Link took another step forward and fell through the hole and landed on a surface that gave quite a bit under his feet.

Link knew that he was standing on a large drum. With the special goggles on, Link looked around and suddenly caught sight of two large brown hands resting on the drum's surface. As soon as Link saw them, the hands started moving and rising in the air. They stopped momentarily, and then started hitting the drum as if to play it. This caused Link to start bouncing around with almost no control over his movements. Then, the hands stopped hitting the drum and one of them attempted to crush Link under its palm. However, he knew this was coming and rolled to get out of the way of the hand. As Link jumped back onto his feet, he saw the other hand was swooping in to try to knock him off his feet again. Link rolled to his right, avoiding that hand. Once back on his feet again, Link willed his feet to be light so that the vibrations of the drum's surface would not bounce him around so much. That done, he then took Jonathan's bow, which had been resting on his left shoulder, and put an arrow from the quiver on his back into the bow. The hands started hitting the drum again, but Link didn't bounce around. Instead, he was able to aim the bow and fired an arrow into one of the hands, which immediately turned blue and stopped moving. Quickly, Link strung up another arrow and fired that into the other hand, which turned blue and stopped.

From out of nowhere, Link saw the face of Bongo Bongo appear between where the hands had stopped. Link got another arrow from his quiver, strung it up in the bow, and fired it at the demon's single large eye. His aim was true, and Bongo Bongo shut his eye in pain. Immediately, Link ran toward the demon, the Master Sword in his left hand. As he came within striking distance, Link swung around with all his strength and struck Bongo Bongo's eye. The blow made the demon shudder violently, as Link took his blade and plunged it into the eye, mortally wounding his enemy. Link realized this himself, and pulled his sword from the eye the moment he knew that Bongo Bongo's fate was sealed. The enemy did not attack again, as it just fell to the drum's surface and expired.

As Bongo Bongo died, Link saw a staircase of light appear before him, leading from the drum surface to a door which shined with a golden light. "I'd say that's where the other half of the Light Power is," Link commented.

"I don't think it would be wise for Ganondorf's minions to see you leaving Kakariko Village," Jonathan pointed out to Link, "They'll know we weren't here to help with the festival and they'll be after us. I'd better take control of myself again."

Link silently agreed and sheathed the Master Sword on his right hip. Lightning once again coursed through him, changing Link back into Jonathan. "You did a great job Link," Jonathan said as he walked forward up the staircase and entered the room with the golden shine. Inside, a golden shine came from everywhere and Jonathan's body began soaking in the Light Power inside. Suddenly, as the last of the light entered him, Jonathan felt a huge power surge run through his body, a surge so powerful that he collapsed to his knees in pain. He felt that the pain was going to rip his body apart. However, after what seemed to be an eternity of agony to him, Jonathan finally felt the pain subside as his body adjusted to the great power he now carried inside of him.

"That wasn't very fun," Jonathan groaned as he stood up again and saw a blue glow light up the now-darkened room. Jonathan walked into the light and was transported back to the entrance to the Shadow Temple, sincerely hoping he'd never see its corridors ever again.

----------

Author's Notes: This is the last dungeon of this story. I hope you liked it. Oh, and thanks to SPark681 for clearing up a little misunderstanding I had with this chapter.

Eight chapters left to go.

New chapter next Friday. And that one is a very short one. Until then, read, review, and most importantly, enjoy.


	26. Chapter 25: Ordinary Heroes

Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all those who read this story in the past week. And a special thanks to all who submitted a review.

cktedmon: I know, it's easy to misunderstand what's going on with Link and Jonathan. If you've ever watched Yu-Gi-Oh, you'll probably have a better understanding of how this whole thing works. Basically, Link's consciousness resides inside the Master Sword until Jonathan needs Link's help. At that point, Link takes over Jonathan's body while Jonathan's consciousness goes into the Master Sword. Thanks for the support, and I hope this cleared up what's going on.

SPark681: Hmm, you're right, I did get those two mixed up. Oh well, it's not a big deal. Though I swear I remember there being a wolfos in the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time for some reason. I'll correct that for next week. Thanks for pointing that out, thanks for the support, and I will continue to do my best to keep you entertained.

Infernal Flame Zero: I hear you, man. I got finals going on right now. I've already had two, and I got two tomorrow before I can go home for the winter break. I shall continue to do my best and thank you for your support.

The Silverdark Knight: Getting through the Shadow Temple was scarier than facing its boss, but that's the way it often goes today with the easy video games and their even easier bosses. Then again, I felt that even A Link to the Past's bosses were easy, but you had a real hell of a time getting through those dungeons. Thanks for the support.

And now for a very short chapter.

**Chapter 25: Ordinary Heroes**

"Orizon, what do you need me to do?" Zelda asked the old Sheikah.

"For the time being, just stay out of harm's way," Orizon answered, "Once the Festival of Seasons is over, you'll have to defeat Ganondorf. Once that is done, I'll take care of the rest."

"So all I have to do is make sure Ganondorf is defeated," Zelda stated.

Orizon nodded in reply. "However, that endeavor could put you in great danger," he warned her, "So it is my duty to do my best to protect you. Zelda, could you please bow your head for a moment?"

Zelda complied immediately, lowering her eyes to look at the ground. From this point forward, Orizon had her complete and absolute trust.

"This is an old Sheikah spell," Orizon informed her as he placed his right hand softly on Zelda's head, "Spirits of the kings and queens of the past, hear my plea. Protect Princess Zelda from mortal harm as she endeavors to destroy the evil that threatens Hyrule. Keep her safe as she seeks to protect her birthright." And with that, Orizon removed his hand from Zelda's head and she raised her gaze again.

"Thank you," she said.

----------

Jonathan reappeared just outside the entrance of the Shadow Temple as the blue light around him disappeared. He saw he was already looking at the way back outside, so he did not hesitate to finally go back up to the world which sunlight touched. He had to shield his eyes initially as they readjusted to the light. Once that happened, Jonathan looked down at the graveyard and immediately caught sight of Zelda and Orizon. Not knowing what was actually happening, he quickly grabbed his bow and armed it with an arrow. "Orizon!" he shouted as he drew the arrow back and took aim at his enemy.

Orizon turned toward him. "Ah, Jonathan, it is good to see you again," he remarked nonchalantly as he walked toward Jonathan a little, "I trust that your journey through the Shadow Temple was a pleasant one."

Those kinds of comments were not what Jonathan wanted to hear at the moment. "Drop the sarcasm, traitor," he replied, "And get away from Zelda right now!"

"Or you'll do what?" Orizon replied, "Shoot me? You know that arrow will have no effect on me. Go ahead and shoot, the only one you'll harm here is Zelda herself. But if that's what you want, be my guest."

At this point, Zelda was utterly perplexed as to what Orizon was doing toying with Jonathan like this. _If Orizon is on our side, why is he doing this?_ she asked herself. However, she decided it would not be wise to confuse Jonathan at this point. She knew Orizon knew what he was doing now. And she felt that her interference was not what Orizon wanted at this point.

Jonathan knew that what Orizon said was the truth, that his magic would shield him from the arrow's harm. And he didn't know if the shield would deflect the arrow in another direction, possibly wounding Zelda in the process. Suddenly, Jonathan felt something click in his mind. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but he felt a surge of power through his entire body. Jonathan could think of no words to describe the feeling as the completed Light Power took its effect and granted him powers he could only have dreamed of having before. Suddenly, the arrow that Jonathan had put in his bow began to glow with a bright golden light.

Upon seeing this, Orizon's demeanor completely changed from smug to concerned. Zelda knew that this was just an act, as he knew that Jonathan had gotten the Light Power before this point, but again, she did not interfere except to appear grateful that Jonathan now had a way to save her from harm. In fact, Zelda was very surprised that Jonathan had the ability to unleash the Light Power so quickly after gaining it. She and Impa were expecting it to take weeks for Jonathan to figure it out.

"It seems that the tables have turned here Orizon," Jonathan remarked as he took aim at the Sheikah, "I know that the magic in this arrow will penetrate anything you can put up to stop it."

Orizon said nothing, but extended his arms from his body. Suddenly, a large cloud of purple smoke engulfed the area around Orizon. Jonathan was about to fire his arrow at where Orizon was standing, but his better judgement told him not to do so. He would have no clue what he'd be shooting at. Like his father told him many times when using a bow, never shoot without aiming first. And in this situation, he had no way to aim at his target. Fully expecting Zelda to be gone with Orizon, Jonathan was pleasantly surprised when he saw that Zelda was still in the graveyard, standing where she had been before Orizon used his disappearing act.

"That is getting really annoying," Jonathan remarked as he relaxed the tension on the arrow in his bow, which stopped glowing as he did that, "Are you alright Zelda?"

Zelda thought for a moment before coming up with this response, "Jonathan, you really are a hero."

Jonathan and Zelda couldn't help but share a laugh.

----------

As Jonathan and Zelda returned to Kakariko Village, they found Impa waiting near the well. She wasted no time wanting to know what had happened between Zelda and Orizon. "Princess Zelda, what happened?" she asked.

"Um, Jonathan, could you please leave us for a moment?" Zelda asked Jonathan before she said anything else.

Jonathan was perplexed by this request. _What is she trying to hide about all this?_ he wondered to himself. But he decided it wasn't important right now. "Sure, just come get me before you guys leave," he replied as he turned and walked over to the tree near the entrance to the village.

Satisfied that Jonathan was out of hearing distance, Zelda told Impa all about her encounter with Orizon.

"So you don't think Orizon wants Jonathan to know that he's really with us?" Impa inquired.

"That's my guess," Zelda replied, "Perhaps he sees that Jonathan is motivated strongly by his anger."

Impa nodded. "I had noticed that about him myself," she commented,**"**But you say that Jonathan can unleash the Light Power already?"

"That's what I saw," Zelda answered, "I was surprised by how quickly he learned to do it as well."

"He is a strange one, that Jonathan," Impa said as she looked at Jonathan, who was looking toward the village entrance from the tree there, "But he has a will of iron and a body of steel. But deep down inside, I think he has a good heart. And that's what counts the most."

Zelda nodded in agreement. _And that is why I love him._

----------

As Jonathan stood next to the tree, he contemplated what stood ahead of him. With the Light Power now rushing through his veins, he now had the power to destroy Ganondorf and return Alazon to his rightful throne. And after that, Jonathan would have a choice to make. Would he return home to Earth or would he stay in Hyrule? It was a difficult choice for him to make as of right now. Hyrule was a beautiful world, but his family and everything he knew was back on Earth. And the life of a soldier that was basically all he could be here in Hyrule wasn't all that attractive to him. But Princess Zelda . . .

His chain of thought was interrupted abruptly by a tug on his tunic from behind. Startled, he jumped as he turned, finding little Teresa scared by his movement. "Please don't hurt me!" she exclaimed softly.

"I'm sorry Teresa," Jonathan replied as he squatted down, "You just startled me. I didn't see you coming. Did you want to talk to me?"

"Um, Mr. Jonathan," Teresa began asking, "Are you a hero?"

_Again with the hero thing,_ Jonathan thought with annoyance to himself as he wondered how to answer that question. One of the first things that he thought of was something his grandfather once told him about his own heroic experiences in a war. "Well Teresa, that depends on who you ask," he began, "Cause I don't think of myself as a hero, even though your whole family probably does."

"You saved my father's life," Teresa replied, "I'd say that's what a hero would do."

"Well, you see, heroes often don't look at themselves as heroes," Jonathan explained, "My grandfather once fought in a terrible war and did many things that we thought were things only heroes would do. When I was young, we were studying that war in school and we were asked to think about heroes. So the next time I saw my grandfather, I asked him if he was a hero. You know what he told me?"

Teresa shook her head.

Jonathan smiled before he continued. "He told me with a smile, 'Johnny, I wasn't a hero, but I was among heroes.' And you know, I've never truly understood what he meant by that until today. I think my grandfather was a true hero, but he never thought of himself as anything more than an ordinary guy who did what he thought was the right thing to do. I guess I'm just an ordinary hero."

"An ordinary hero?" Teresa asked.

Jonathan laughed. "Most of the heroes you'll meet in life will be ordinary people just like you, doing what they felt was the right thing to do. We all can be heroes, Teresa. They aren't just people you read about in legends and stories. They walk among us every day. And remember that there's even a hero inside of you."

"There is?" Teresa replied as she looked at herself, trying to find that hero.

Jonathan laughed again. "Yeah, it's there, trust me," he said, "So remember that you can be a hero someday too."

"Okay, I'll remember," Teresa promised as she turned and ran back to what remained of her home.

Standing up again, Jonathan saw that Zelda had been listening to the whole conversation. "Not a hero, but among them?" she asked, "Then does that mean I'm a hero?"

"I'm sure you are a hero to many people, Zelda," Jonathan replied.

"Yes, I suppose that is true," Zelda admitted, "But that was still a great thing you told her."

"I told her what I thought the answer to her question was," he said honestly.

Zelda nodded. "Are you ready to head back to the Forest Temple?" she asked.

"Is there anything else for me to do here?" Jonathan replied.

"Not really, no," Zelda answered, "At least not now."

"Then lets go," Jonathan said, "I've got to get ready for the festival now."

Zelda giggled as Impa joined them and left Kakariko Village. Once they reached the Forest Temple, Jonathan went to his room, took his boots off, and went to sleep. He didn't show it, but he was physically exhausted at that point.

----------

Author's Notes: In case you haven't figured it out yet, the war Jonathan's grandfather fought in was World War II. I don't remember where I first heard the phrase, "I wasn't a hero, but I was among heroes," but I'm sure it's a very common phrase used by those who fought in that war and other wars as well.

Seven chapters to go.

Prepare yourselves, the next chapter is a really long one. It also sets the scene for how this story fits in with the Zelda chronology, although I have to admit that this timeline is not correct now. I'll explain why next week.

Also, the next chapter is another one that may warrant an M rating for this story. I'll let the readers be the judge of that.

Until next Friday, read, review, and enjoy.


	27. Chapter 26: Night of Destiny

Author's Notes: Once again, a thank you to all the readers who checked out my story in the past week. And a special thanks to all who took the time to submit a review.

SPark681: Yes, it will be a shame when you wake up one Saturday morning and realize, "Gosh, that great story is all over." However, I will begin posting Harry Potter and the Heir of Gryffindor in June 2008, whether it is finished or not. Since it probably won't be finished by that point, I will post chapters two weeks apart until I reach what I haven't completed yet, and then chapters will be posted as they are finished. Thanks for the support.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, my dad didn't fight in a war, but my mother's father fought in Vietnam. My brother tells me he was a Green Beret, but I'm not certain of that. My father's father was a Marine in World War II. He was stationed on Guam and I think he may have fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. But I first heard that quote in connection to WWII. See, that same brother of mine (actually, it is SlAyErPaTh) is a big WWII fan. He watches Band of Brothers, plays Brothers in Arms, he just loves the stuff. So that's where I got the quote, though it applies to any war. Thanks for the support.

And a really special thanks to all the readers out there who have pushed this story to over 3,000 hits. Wow, you guys are just awesome.

And now, here is the longest chapter of the story. Stick with it; you can make it through. Also, there is a certain scene near the end of this chapter that may warrant an M rating for the entire story, although if the previous issue didn't make the story an M, this one probably won't either.

**Chapter 26: Night of Destiny**

Five days after Jonathan recovered the Light Power, he was out on Hyrule Field helping to prepare the stage for the night's festivities. In the middle of the southern portion of Hyrule Field, Jonathan and seven others were setting up the field for the annual meeting among the leaders of the land. At the moment, Jonathan was making sure that the twelve torches were all set up in a circle that was about 100 feet in diameter and that were equally spaced around that circle. Jonathan had already made sure that the torches were on the edge of the circle, and now was trying to make sure that the torches were spaced apart correctly. In order to do that, Jonathan had a stake placed in that center of the circle and, starting from the first torch, measured off thirty degrees of the circle and had a torch placed on the edge of the circle at each mark he indicated. The result would end up looking like the hour markers on an analog clock on Earth.

The torches were not all the same, as Jonathan soon realized. Three of the twelve torches were taller and more elaborately designed than the others. These three were crafted from gold, while the other nine were bronze. Once the torches were set in place, Jonathan also noticed that the golden torches were placed with three bronze torches between each of them. Looking at how the golden torches were set up, he saw they formed an equilateral triangle within the circle.

_I guess I'll understand how this thing works tonight,_ Jonathan thought as he departed from the area with the other workers. "A nice job, guys, it looks great," he told them.

"Thanks Jonathan," one of them replied, "It's all ready for your big night with the princess."

Jonathan smiled as he looked down and shook his head. Somehow the news that Jonathan and Zelda would be dancing tonight had gotten out to everyone in the Forest Temple. And Jonathan had told no one about it. "Hey, someone has to sacrifice for the good of Hyrule," he joked in response.

"Seriously, that is an amazing honor," another one of the workers said, "Plus it means that she may just be growing fond of you, you lucky bastard."

"With any luck, you'll be the prince of this land soon," the first worker chimed in.

Jonathan laughed at that one. "Me? Married?" he asked in a joking manner, "You must be out of your mind!"

They all laughed together as they entered the Kokiri Forest and made their way back to the Forest Temple.

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Meanwhile, inside Hyrule Castle, Ganondorf's last concern was the Festival of Seasons. While the damage done to Kakariko Village was already being taken care of by others, the timing of the incident was rather odd to Ganondorf. It happened just as Jonathan was heading to the village. Now he had to assume that Jonathan had recovered both parts of the Light Power. That was of great concern to Ganondorf.

However, Ganondorf had to assume that Jonathan would not become a threat for weeks to come. Since Jonathan was from a completely different world, he was not yet able to use any kind of magical power, which was needed to use the Light Power as a weapon. And until Jonathan learned how to use magic powers, Link couldn't summon the Light Power either.

Of course, Ganondorf couldn't know that Orizon had neglected to tell him that Jonathan could actually use the Light Power. Orizon, who was standing atop one of the guard towers watching the work being done on Hyrule Field, knew that Jonathan would be coming to defeat Ganondorf much sooner than Ganondorf would ever anticipate. As he watched Jonathan return to the forest, he smiled at the knowledge that his mistake would soon be reversed. He also realized that he needed to have a long talk with an old friend before that happened. He needed to talk with King Alazon himself. _That will be easy enough to arrange, I think,_ Orizon figured to himself.

----------

As dusk approached, a group of twelve armed Hylian soldiers set out leading a group from the Forest Temple through the Lost Woods on its way to Hyrule Field. In the group was King Alazon, Princess Zelda, Impa, Jonathan, General Attula, and Marlu, along with a few others that Jonathan did not recognize. Jonathan himself was wearing a new set of clothing. He was now wearing a long-sleeved blue uniform with gold buttons on the top part of his body and well-pressed black pants with polished black dress shoes. He didn't know it, but this sort of clothing was usually only worn by the prince of Hyrule. Zelda was wearing her usual purple and pink dress and she appeared quite excited about this whole affair. Jonathan told her as much.

"This festival only comes once a year, Jonathan," Zelda explained, "This is the one day of the year everyone waits for. There are presents, singing, all sorts of great things."

_Sounds like Christmas,_ Jonathan thought as he nodded. "I understand what you mean," he replied, "We have a similar holiday in my world, so I understand why you feel so excited."

Of course, Jonathan was excited about this night as well. As much as he tried to not show it, he was nervous about his dancing with Zelda tonight. From his own personal experience, dancing with a girl when her father was nearby was a fairly risky affair. There was always a fine line between upsetting the girl's father by being too close and upsetting the girl by not being close enough. He did not want to relive that experience again, but he supposed he did not have a choice in this case. He'd just have to be very careful and would err on the side of not upsetting Alazon. Like on Earth, discretion was the better part of valor in Hyrule.

As the group walked out onto Hyrule Field, they walked directly toward the torches Jonathan had helped to arrange earlier that day. The sun at this point was about to sink below the horizon to the west and the sky was now red near where the sun was, while further away the sky was fading to black and the brightest stars were beginning to appear. At this time, the twelve soldiers began lighting torches, which Jonathan assumed was just to light the way in the fading sunlight. As the torches came into the view, he saw that no one else was there at that time.

"Are we supposed to be the first ones here?" Jonathan asked Zelda, who was now walking next to him on his right side.

"Yes," Zelda replied, "We have to show that we are ready to begin before they arrive."

"How do we show that we're ready to begin?" Jonathan inquired as the group stopped when they reached the torches.

Zelda didn't reply, but instead pointed toward the torches. As Jonathan watched, nine of the twelve soldiers, who were holding regular wooden torches, walked around the circle formed by the torches until each one stood at a different bronze torch. Then, in unison, the nine lifted their burning wooden torches, lighting all the bronze torches in the circle together, brightening the area quite a bit, especially as the soldiers walked back into the group.

Jonathan then saw that one of the other three soldiers, whose torches were made of gold, was giving his torch to King Alazon. He then noticed that the two other soldiers with golden torches were approaching himself and Zelda.

"Jonathan, we're going to light the other torches now," Zelda informed him as she took the lit golden torch that was handed to her, "Take his torch and follow me."

Jonathan nodded as he took the third golden torch from the soldier who was handing it to him and followed Zelda around the torches. He now saw that Alazon was standing next to the unlit golden torch that was furthest north. Zelda was leading Jonathan to the other two torches. As they approached the torch that was the farthest to the east, Zelda told him to stay near that torch as she walked to the golden torch that was to the west. Jonathan held his lit torch in the air, waiting for a signal of some sort to light his torch. Then, once all three were in position, Alazon said, "Let the gathering of the Festival of Seasons begin!" And with that, Jonathan saw Zelda nod toward him. Nodding back, all three brought their torches to light the final three unlit torches in the circle.

Immediately, Jonathan saw that these three torches were very different indeed from the other nine. When he lit his torch, Jonathan saw the flame from it was a very forest green color, even though the flame in the torch he had used to light the fixed torch was still an ordinary red-orange. Looking at Alazon, the torch he had lit was now burning with a blood red color. And he saw that Zelda's torch was burning with a deep blue color. The flames that came from these golden torches were also at least twice as tall as those from the other torches, which actually didn't seem unusual to Jonathan. But what happened next left Jonathan in awe. All of a sudden, golden lines stretched across the field, connecting the golden torches together in a triangle. Then, a bright flash emerged from the triangle, illuminating the field for a moment as bright as if it were day. When Jonathan could actually see the ground in front of him again, he saw that the triangle was now an image of the Triforce, with three triangles glowing with a golden color, brightening the area very nicely.

"That is so cool," Jonathan remarked as he looked at the ground inside the circle of torches, which were still burning. He then turned to look at Zelda, who was walking back to the rest of the group, her torch still in hand. "What do we do now?" he asked her.

"Follow me and let the party begin," Zelda replied with a smile as she walked back to where all the others from the Forest Temple had gathered. Zelda, Jonathan, and Alazon gave their torches back to the soldiers and waited for others to arrive. And sure enough, they did come.

The first group to arrive was the Zora from Zora's Domain. Jonathan saw about a dozen or so of the watery creatures approaching from the east, several of them carrying various instruments. Also with the group was Princess Ruto, whom Jonathan recognized almost immediately, along with a taller female Zora who stood next to her. Like Ruto, she also had webbing of sorts stretching between her arms and her torso. However, the taller female Zora had a very human-shaped head. Jonathan was about to ask Zelda about this female Zora when he saw that Ruto was leading her over to Zelda, who was now standing next to her father.

"King Alazon, I give you my warmest regards," the older Zora said as she and Ruto bowed in front of Alazon and Zelda.

"Your presence is welcome," Alazon replied as he and Zelda bowed back to the two Zoras, "I suppose King Zora himself couldn't come."

"No, he has grown too weak to do that," Ruto replied with a worried look on her face.

"Well, in any case, welcome to the gathering," Alazon said.

Once that conversation had ended, Jonathan wanted to ask Ruto a few questions. "Princess Ruto, it is good to see you again," he greeted.

"It is good to see you again as well, Jonathan," Ruto replied.

"Is this the young man you told me about, my daughter?" the older Zora asked.

"Yes," Ruto replied, "Jonathan, this is my mother, Queen Rutela of the Zora."

"Ruto, I must talk to King Alazon about something," Rutela told her daughter, "Remember not to stray too far from this area and to soak yourself in the river every now and then."

"Yes, Mother," Ruto replied with a sigh, as if she were tired with her mother being so overbearing. Once she was out of earshot, she told Jonathan and Zelda, "I wish she would treat me more like an adult sometimes."

"I know how you feel," Jonathan replied, "What is she talking to Alazon about?"

"Well, one thing is good and one thing is bad," Ruto answered.

"Why don't you tell us the bad thing first," Zelda suggested.

Ruto paused for a few seconds before she finally said, "My father's heart is growing too weak for his body. Our doctors are afraid that his heart will give out soon and that he will die." She began to cry at this point.

Jonathan felt her pain; he too had experienced similar tragedies in his life, when someone he loved was going to die and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. It was the worst feeling he had ever felt; wanting to help, but totally incapable of doing so. Zelda and Ruto shared a hug. "I'm so sorry, Ruto," she consoled, "Your father is a good soul. He'll receive his reward from the Goddesses."

After waiting a few moments to make sure he didn't seem uncaring, Jonathan inquired, "So, what is the good news your mother has, Ruto?"

Ruto's face seemed to brighten up considerably at that. "Well, my mother is pregnant," she said excitedly.

"Oh wow, that's great news," Zelda replied, "Do your doctors know if it will be a brother or a sister you will have in ten years?"

"Ten years?" Jonathan asked, "Does it take ten years for a Zora to be born?"

"Yes," Ruto answered, "You must remember that we Zoras are very delicate creatures and that there is no better place for a body to develop than in the womb."

Jonathan nodded in reply, still thinking that ten years was an absurdly long time to carry a child for. "We only spend nine or ten months in the womb," Jonathan explained, "So I find ten years to be an awfully long time."

"Hylians have a similar amount of time to carry a child for," Zelda replied.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the west. Looking in that direction, Jonathan saw explosions high in the air, followed soon after by the sounds of those explosions reaching the gathering on Hyrule Field. They weren't as elaborate as some of the firework displays back on Earth, but this display was still a great one to Jonathan. It also signaled the arrival of Queen Nabooru and the others with her from the Gerudo Fortress. She was wearing the same sort of clothing that Jonathan saw her wearing when he was at the Gerudo Fortress. At her side was her daughter Chale, who was dressed in a red robe that covered her body from the neck down, leaving her head and hands exposed to the sight of others. Jonathan didn't know it, but she was walking with bare feet. Behind the Gerudo queen and her daughter were sixteen Gerudo warriors, but none of them had any weapons with them. None of them were wearing veils over their faces either. About half of the warriors were wearing all purple, while the other half were dressed in red. Their current clothing was similar to their normal attire, except that they were now wearing long skirts instead of pants. Also, it seemed as if the clothes they were wearing now were made to be much more decorative that functional. _They look like belly dancers or something,_ Jonathan thought to himself, recalling his experience with a former love interest who took a class in college in that art.

Nabooru and Chale approached King Alazon and Princess Zelda, who turned toward their new visitors with warm smiles. "On behalf of the Gerudo, I bring you good tidings, King Alazon," Nabooru greeted without bowing at all.

"Your presence is most welcome, Queen Nabooru," Alazon replied, "Welcome to the gathering." He knew that Nabooru bowed to no one, not even Ganondorf. However, her daughter did bow to Zelda, who bowed back.

While this was distracting Jonathan's attention, he didn't notice that two of the red-clad Gerudo had snuck up on him from behind. The two young women got on both sides of Jonathan and then grabbed his arms.

"What the . . . ," Jonathan started in surprise as he tried to see what was going on, "What's going on? Who are you?"

"Oh don't worry Jonathan, we'll take good care of you," he heard a familiar voice reply seductively.

"Velai!" Jonathan exclaimed, knowing immediately that the other one who had a hold on him was Junoti, "You let me go this instant!"

"Be quiet Jonathan, we're not going to hurt you," Junoti replied.

"Exactly the opposite, in fact," Velai agreed as they tried to drag him away from the growing crowd. With that, Velai covered Jonathan's mouth with her left hand, using her right arm to help Junoti with their catch. But as they started getting away, they ran right into the last person they wanted to see.

"And just exactly what do you think you're doing?" Jonathan heard Magne's voice ask from behind him. He relaxed his entire body upon hearing her.

Junoti paused for a moment before replying. "Starting a new tradition at the gathering," was what she came up with.

Magne shook her head. "No, you're going to let Jonathan go unless he wants to go with you two," she ordered, "And I don't believe Jonathan is doing this at his own free will, so you had better let him go or else I will be very upset."

Reluctantly, Velai and Junoti released Jonathan from their grasp and walked back to where the other Gerudo were starting to settle. Magne, who was also wearing red, decided to talk to Jonathan.

"You know, if they just walked up to my face and asked," he remarked, "I just might be interested in their advances."

"I guess you don't like getting surprised," Magne surmised.

"Well, not like that," Jonathan replied, "I hate that feeling of being completely helpless."

Magne nodded, understanding what he meant. "I knew those two would try something sneaky if they saw you here," she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think you should depend on me to protect you from those predators for much longer."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jonathan responded as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Zelda walking up.

"Is something going on here?" she asked.

"No, not really," Jonathan replied, "Just talking to a fellow Gerudo."

All three individuals shared a laugh as suddenly hawks began swooping in from the south, signaling the arrival of the next group of people. Four people came into view on horseback, wearing the simple clothes of farmers and ranchers. One caught Jonathan's attention immediately, as he appeared to be a young teenager. Another one of the riders appeared to be a rather corpulent young man whose body size and shape somewhat reminded Jonathan of a Goron. Behind the front four riders was a group of about two dozen people on foot, including about ten young children. All of them were also wearing the simple clothes of farmers and ranchers. And behind them were another two riders on horseback.

"Rusl, you're getting too far ahead," one of the rear riders called out, "Slow down a little and let Bo catch up with you."

After this had been called, the teenager on horseback slowed up a little, allowing the corpulent young man to catch up. Alazon and Zelda walked to the south to greet those who had made the lengthy journey from the Ordona and Faron Provinces, which were to the south of Hyrule proper. As the new arrivals stopped near the edge of the ring of torches, the other rear horseback rider, who was a corpulent older man with no hair on top of his head, began to slow down his steed. Trying to get a good look at him, Jonathan thought he saw a pair of tiny tusks on the space between the man's upper lip and the bottom of his nose. The younger corpulent man also got off his horse and walked up to Alazon. It was then that Jonathan realized that these two must have been father and son, for they were splitting images of each other, save for the fact that the older man had no hair and the younger man had no tusks.

"Welcome to the gathering, Mayor Luke," Alazon greeted with a bow along with Zelda.

Luke, the older man, bowed back, along with Bo, the younger man. Then Luke gave Alazon a bear hug. "Oh Alazon, it's so good to see you again," Luke replied in a deep voice, "You're like a brother to me. A simple bow can't suffice for us."

Bo and Zelda simply exchanged laughs as Luke let Alazon out of his grip before his face turned blue. Jonathan also found the scene quite humorous and laughed as well. He had never met anyone from those areas of this world, so he walked over to talk to someone from the group. He immediately caught the attention of the teenager called Rusl, who had just gotten off his horse. "Hey, you look like someone important," he remarked as Jonathan noticed his voice had yet to drop with age, "Who are you?"

"My name is Jonathan, and I'm here with Princess Zelda," Jonathan replied, "And your name is Rusl?"

Rusl nodded in reply as he made sure his steed was calm so that she wouldn't run off. "Yes, I'm Rusl," he said, "And I'm 15 years old."

"That's quite young to be riding a horse like that the way you were," Jonathan commented, "You could really hurt yourself if something goes wrong."

"I know that, but I've been riding horses like this since I was little," Rusl responded, "And my father has been training me to use a sword for a few years now. I'm going to be just like my father one day."

Jonathan had to stifle a chuckle upon hearing that. "So, you all come from Ordona?" Jonathan decided to ask.

"Most of us, yes," Rusl replied, "There are a few that come from Faron, though. Not that it really matters; we're all one community, basically."

Jonathan nodded as he looked at the group in its entirety and was surprised that many of those present appeared even younger than Rusl was. _Is Ordon Village full of orphans or something?_ he ended up thinking to himself. "There are a lot of children from your village here," he commented.

"Yes, all the children from the village came to the gathering this year to see Bo, the mayor's son," Rusl replied.

"What is Bo doing tonight?" Jonathan inquired, looking at the young man who was now putting on what appeared to be a shiny pair of boots.

"He's going to be taking part in the sumo wrestling," Rusl answered, "We're all pulling for him to win."

Jonathan nodded again, as he had run out of questions to ask Rusl. Looking back into the group of people from Ordona and Faron, he caught sight of Zelda walking through the group and talking to the children. He also noticed that there were two older teenagers in the group, one male and one female. What caught his attention to these two was that they appeared to be the only blonde-haired people in the group, besides Rusl himself. They also had bright blue eyes and if Jonathan hadn't known better, would have thought that these two could have been siblings of Link.

"Isn't she pretty?" Rusl asked.

"Huh?" Jonathan replied absent-mindedly, looking back at Rusl, "Who is?"

"Uli," Rusl answered, "She has blonde hair and is a little shorter than I am."

Looking back into the group, Jonathan found the girl Rusl was talking about. She was a bit less than five feet tall, as Rusl was a little over that mark. She had medium length blonde hair, as opposed to Rusl's short length hair. Both of them had blue eyes as well. _I don't think it's right for me to comment on whether she's pretty or not,_ Jonathan thought, realizing he was probably around ten years older than she was. "Well, whatever floats your boat," he replied to Rusl.

Rusl looked at Jonathan a little funny when suddenly a rumbling in the ground could be felt. "The Gorons are coming!" he heard someone shout. In a few moments, Jonathan saw what appeared to be boulders of varying size rolling down from the staircase leading up to Kakariko Village. They rolled right through the river that led to Zora's Domain and slowed down as they approached the gathering site. Finally, they stopped and then unrolled to show that the boulders were actually fifteen Gorons. And behind them were another two dozen people from Kakariko Village and Hyrule Castle Town. Alazon and Zelda went to greet Darnuia, the Goron leader.

"Darnuia, welcome to the gathering," Alazon greeted, bowing to the huge creature.

"Thank you, your majesty," Darnuia replied with a bow as a smaller Goron walked up behind him, "It's good to see you again. I'm sure you remember my son Link here."

"But of course," Alazon replied, "Will you be taking part in the sumo wrestling?"

"No, but Link will," Darnuia answered.

"Dad, I still don't have anyone to take on in the first round," Link claimed.

"I'm sure we'll think of something to do with you, son," Darnuia replied as he looked around and suddenly caught sight of Jonathan, "Jonathan! Would you be interested in wrestling with my son?"

Not thinking initially about the offer, Jonathan replied, "Yeah, okay, I'll try."

Immediately, Zelda walked over to Jonathan. "Jonathan, are you sure you know what you're doing here?" she asked him.

"This won't kill me, will it?" Jonathan asked Darnuia.

"Probably not," Darnuia began, "The rules are simple. It's a simple one-on-one fight. In order to win, you have to either push your opponent off his feet or push him out of the fight area. The fight area in this case is the circle of torches. You can do whatever you need to do to win, just no low blows."

Jonathan nodded. "Sounds simple enough," he said, "I'll do it."

"Jonathan, you can't win," Zelda warned, "Link will be too strong for you to beat."

"Hey, you never know until you try," Jonathan replied as he began unbuttoning his uniform, "I'd rather not get this thing ripped up, though. Could you hang onto it for a moment, Zelda?"

"Yeah, sure," she replied as Jonathan took the uniform off his upper body, revealing his chest to plain view. Even though Zelda thought Jonathan was being extremely foolhardy, she couldn't help but smile upon seeing Jonathan in that way. Zelda took the garment and sat down next to her father outside of the ring of torches.

"Let this gathering of the Festival of Seasons commence!" the king announced in a loud voice, his arms stretched out in an expression of welcoming.

At this, Darnuia walked forward into the Triforce Arena (as Jonathan had dubbed it in his mind), taking a place in the very middle of the glowing Triforce symbol. Raising his arms to quietly ask for silence, he waited a few moments before those present ceased with their clapping and cheering. Once the area was quiet, he said, "Peoples of Hyrule, let the festivities begin! Tonight, the Gorons begin with a display of their sumo wrestling. But this year, we have two non-Gorons who want to show that they can be as strong as us. We commend their bravery. Our first match is Link the Goron against Jonathan the hero."

A clap went up from all around, with all the non-Gorons present cheering for Jonathan. Of course, the Gorons cheered for the son of their chieftain. The two walked toward Darnuia, side by side. Neither one spoke to the other, as Jonathan had experience with things like this before. He knew that most fighters had a ritual of some kind they went through before a fight and that to disrupt that rhythm they were working on was not a good idea. He looked at Link and saw that his head was looking toward the ground and thought that it wouldn't be right to disrupt him. While that was the case with some other Gorons, Link wasn't following some set ritual. He hadn't developed one yet.

"Jonathan, please stand here," Darnuia said quietly to Jonathan as the Goron guided him to stand with the front of his shoes barely touching the middle of the inner triangle in the Triforce in the ground. Facing north, he saw Link take his place at the tip of the inner triangle of the symbol, looking south at Jonathan. Jonathan then saw Link bend his knees, then lifted his right foot into the air and brought it down with authority, causing the ground under Jonathan's feet to shake a little.

_Oh crap,_ Jonathan realized immediately, _I forgot that Gorons are really heavy creatures. Link must weigh at least 300 pounds._ However, Jonathan knew he had committed himself to this, so he too bent his knees and then lifted his right foot into the air and brought it down as hard as he could. But there was no way he could come close to duplicating Link's ground-shaking performance. He placed both his hands down on the ground in front of him, again duplicating what Link was doing. The two looked at each other while they waited for some signal to begin the fight.

"You will begin on my signal," Darnuia ordered, "Link, are you ready?"

Link only nodded in response, never even bothering to look directly at his father. "Jonathan are you ready?" Darnuia then asked.

"Yes," Jonathan said with a little hesitation. _Might as well get this over with if I'm going to lose,_ he thought to himself.

"Begin on my signal," Darnuia reminded as he walked in between the two and then took a step backwards but kept his arm stretched out to where he had been standing, "Ready, GO!"

With that, Darnuia dropped his arm and Jonathan saw Link come walking up to him, his left hand in front of his chest and his right hand just at his chest level, but further out from his body. _He's going to hit me with his right hand,_ Jonathan understood immediately. To counter, Jonathan stepped to his right, which was Link's left, and successfully avoided the blow. Link swung at nothing but air. _Maybe while he's off-balance, I can push him or knock him over,_ Jonathan thought as he immediately rushed into Link's body, trying to wrap his arms around the Goron as much as he could, and pushed against him with every ounce of might he had in his being. However, Link's body did not budge one inch from the force Jonathan was using to move him, nor was he losing his balance. In a last-ditch attempt to win, Jonathan attempted to pick up Link somehow, but that was just as futile as his efforts to move him. Link looked up and saw Link smiling down at him. "I'm not going to win this fight, am I?" he asked the Goron in his embrace.

"No," Link replied as he shook his head. Suddenly, Jonathan felt two rocky hands grab both sides of his waist. The next thing he knew, Jonathan was looking toward the night sky and his feet were no longer touching the ground.

_He's carrying me around like I'm just a twig!_ Jonathan thought as he began to panic, flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to escape Link's grip, even though that would result in him falling onto the ground and lead to Link winning the match. But that thought was not on Jonathan's mind at the moment. "Let me down! Let me down!" he shouted as he continued to flail around with no effect. Link simply carried him over to the edge of the arena where Zelda was sitting with a look of amusement on her face. She began laughing as she realized what Link was doing. As Link reached the edge, he heard Jonathan again shout, "Let me down!"

"Alright," Link replied calmly as he brought Jonathan back down on his feet outside of the perimeter of torches. It was a huge relief to Jonathan that he was now back on solid ground.

"Link is the winner!" Darnuia proclaimed as Link pumped both his fists into the air and walked out of the arena to much applause and laughter.

Jonathan simply shrugged. "I did the best I could, Zelda," he told the princess who was still holding half of his clothing, "He was just way too heavy and strong for me."

"It's okay, Jonathan," Zelda assured, "At least you tried."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jonathan replied, still disappointed that he had been handled like a rag doll by another individual, "Can I have my uniform back now?"

Zelda smiled as she handed the blue shirt back to Jonathan. "Thanks," he said as he put it back on and buttoned it up as he sat down on Zelda's right. He avoided Impa's gaze as he knew it would be filled with nothing but criticism. He'd now watch the rest of the sumo wrestling as a spectator.

"The next fight will be Cor Goron against Darbus!" Darnuia shouted, "Fighters, please step forward."

----------

Orizon was watching the wrestling action from the defensive wall that surrounded Hyrule Castle Town. He smiled in amusement as he watched Jonathan's valiant but futile attempt to beat a Goron at his own sport. He knew that Jonathan's decision to attempt to fight Link was partly due to the extra courage that he was getting from Triforce of Courage.

Orizon was not standing alone atop the wall. To his left was a young man similar in age to Jonathan. He had red hair and green eyes and the ears of a Hylian. He was slightly shorter than Orizon himself but had about the same color skin as the Sheikah had. He was wearing clothes not unusual for a Hylian to wear, and a blue shirt with black buttons in the front and black pants with black shoes. But Orizon sensed there was something special about this youth whom he had first met four years ago. He couldn't figure out exactly what it was, though.

"Orizon, you wished to see me?" the young man asked as he turned toward the older man.

"Yes Kasuto," Orizon replied, turning to look at the younger man, "I need you to deliver a message to King Alazon. He's down there at the gathering."

"What if the soldiers won't let me by?" Kasuto asked his mentor.

"As long as you're not armed, you'll be welcome at the gathering," Orizon informed as he pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment, "Try not to raise too much attention. Try to blend in. Once you deliver the message to Alazon, you're free to do as you wish."

Kasuto took the message from Orizon's hand and placed it in a small pouch which hung over his chest by a cord that stretched from over his left shoulder down to his right hip and then back up to his left shoulder. "You can trust me, Orizon," he stated with an informal salute.

Orizon nodded as he turned away from Kasuto and walked down the castle wall pathway. Kasuto himself found his way to the nearest staircase that led from the top of the wall down to the ground level. On most nights, the drawbridge leading into the town was raised at sunset. However, on the night of the Festival of Seasons, the bridge remained down, allowing for free travel for those at the gathering to return to their homes without having to wait until dawn. Both Orizon and Kasuto would leave the town tonight.

----------

"And now for the final match!" Darnuia announced 15 minutes after the previous match had ended, "Darbus the Goron against Bo of Ordona! Fighters, please step forward!"

Upon saying this, a large Goron, named Darbus, came forward from the group of Gorons. Darbus's most distinguishing feature, at least to Jonathan, was that his head seemed to be completely flat on the top, mimicking a hairstyle Jonathan often had seen as one kept by a character who did more punching and shooting than talking and reasoning. Even for a Goron, he was rather tall, as he was just over 12 feet tall when he stood upright. He also seemed to have a nasty sneer glued onto his face.

From the other side of the arena, Bo stood up. To Jonathan, this appeared to be a complete mismatch. Bo was only five-and-a-half feet tall and would be lucky if he weighed even one-third of what Darbus had to weigh. His leg muscles were definitely strong, but they couldn't be much stronger than Jonathan's, and Jonathan couldn't even budge Link, who got completely dominated in his match with Darbus. But then he noticed that Bo walked very slowly into the arena for a human-like being. In fact, it appeared to be closer to a waddle than a walk. Jonathan was surprised that Bo had even gotten this far, for he had to beat three Gorons just to get here.

Jonathan leaned over to Zelda and whispered, "Bo's been on a great run, but I think it ends here for him. I bet Darbus will win."

Zelda shook her head. "I bet you he won't," she replied.

Jonathan smiled and responded, "How much?"

Zelda looked at Jonathan with a look of confusion on her face. "What?" she asked.

"How much you bet he won't?" Jonathan clarified, "Loser makes breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Zelda thought about that proposition for a moment before answering, "Alright," she replied.

"Done," Jonathan agreed as he put out his right hand to consummate the deal.

"You're on," Zelda said as she shook his hand.

"Fine," Jonathan finished as their hands came apart. Both looked back toward the arena where the two combatants were now standing face-to-face with each other, both in their starting spots. Darbus was looking at Bo with a look of absolute contempt, obviously thinking this was going to be easy. Bo stared right back at Darbus, showing that he wasn't going to be intimidated. Bo was the first one to assume his position, crouching down so that his knees bent outward. With his hands resting on his thighs, he lifted his right leg high into the air and brought it down with a loud crash. Darbus proceeded to do the same, making an even bigger rumbling through the ground. Both wrestlers then put their hands down on the ground in front of them and looked up at each other, waiting for a signal from Darnuia.

Darnuia now stepped into position, between the two competitors but standing out of their line of sight except for his arm which would signal them to begin. "This is for the title of the best sumo wrestler in all Hyrule!" Darnuia declared, "Bo, are you ready?"

Bo simply nodded, not looking away from Darbus at all. "Darbus, are you ready?" Darnuia asked his fellow Goron.

"I will crush him!" Darbus shouted in reply in his deep voice.

"Begin on my signal," Darnuia ordered, "Ready, GO!" And with that, his arm dropped out of the way.

Immediately, the two rushed at each other, both trying to grab each other. This ended up resulting in both of the wrestlers bouncing off each other back to their starting spots. Bo then tried to hit Darbus with his right hand, but Darbus sidestepped away from this motion and then grabbed the off-balance Bo by his hips and began to push him backwards.

"Come on Darbus!" Jonathan yelled.

"Fight back Bo!" Zelda shouted in reply.

"Come on Darbus!" Jonathan shouted again.

"You can take him Bo, come on!" Zelda yelled to the Ordonian.

Bo had been pushed back about 20 feet when he finally broke Darbus's hold on him and then struck him in the chest with his right hand. Darbus was caught off guard by Bo's strength and was vulnerable. Bo followed up on this and grabbed Darbus and started pushing him back. He had only pushed him back five feet when Darbus broke Bo's grip and aimed to knock him silly with a blow from his left hand. However, Bo was able to avoid that attack by stepping to his left. And then, while Darbus was recovering, Bo wrapped him up again and pushed him toward the edge of the arena.

The match continued for the next 15 minutes, with the crowd all around going crazy. Most of the non-Gorons were in support of Bo. In fact, Jonathan had a strange feeling he was the only one outside of the Gorons who was cheering for Darbus. After 15 minutes, the two combatants found themselves near the edge of the arena where Jonathan and Zelda were sitting. They now cheered twice as loud as before as Bo tried to hit Darbus with another one of his punches, possibly forcing him out of the arena area. However, Darbus also took a swing at Bo and both hit each other at the same time, driving both backwards. Just as Darbus regained his footing, his right heel stepped on the circle that marked the edge of the arena, but did not rest outside of the circle.

"Foot on the line!" Zelda called.

"Body part needs to be outside the line," Darnuia replied, clarifying the rules, "The line itself is not out."

Hearing this, Darbus rushed forward, away from the edge. However, Bo would have none of it. He rushed forward as well and ducked under Darbus's attempt to hit him again. This time, Bo grabbed Darbus and pushed him to the edge. But just as Darbus was about to go out, he tried to fall down on his back while holding onto Bo, and thus leading to a drawn match. He fell to the ground with Bo falling right on top of him.

"DARBUS!" Jonathan exclaimed as he stood up, for he thought he saw Bo's foot touch the ground outside the ring before Darbus hit the ground.

"BO!" Zelda shouted back, as she thought Darbus's move was against the rules.

Indeed, most of the Gorons also saw that Bo's foot had touched the ground outside the ring before any part of Darbus's body did. And when Darbus got back on his feet, he made that clear to Darnuia.

"Bo's right foot did touch the ground before any portion of Darbus's body did," Darnuia ruled while Bo was still standing up.

At this, the Gorons and Jonathan went crazy, the Gorons thinking their champion had won and Jonathan thinking he had won himself a wonderful breakfast tomorrow morning, which he would share with Zelda.

It took a few moments for everyone to realize that Darnuia had put his hands up in the air in order to quiet everyone down. There was more to this story. "However, Darbus committed an illegal maneuver, grabbing an opponent while falling," Darnuia clarified once everyone could hear his shouts, "By rule, since the foul took place in conjunction with the end of the match, Darbus losses the match automatically. Bo is the winner!"

And with that, bedlam broke loose again. Immediately, all those from Ordona rushed toward their victorious combatant and picked him up off the ground and carried him away, chanting his name as they did so. Bo held his hands high in the air in victory, shouting along with his fellow villagers. Most of the Gorons were respectful in defeat, as they cheered on Bo as well. However, Darbus was definitely not with them, as he argued with Darnuia about the fight.

"You brought it on yourself, Darbus," Darnuia told him as he walked back to the crowd of Gorons to get the prize for the winning fighter, "You know the rules."

"This is impossible!" Darbus exclaimed.

_You're telling me,_ Jonathan thought dryly to himself as he looked at Zelda, who had a big smile on her face as she looked to Jonathan.

"I like my eggs fried, Jonathan," Zelda informed with an impish smile on her face.

Jonathan could only shake his head in disbelief. "Yes ma'am," he replied. It was the first time he had ever addressed her as that. And it would also be the only time.

At this time, Darnuia had gotten the prize for the winner and walked over to the group of Ordonians. "In return for your great display of strength and cunning, Bo of Ordona, you are awarded this 100-rupee piece," he declared as he gave an orange gem. Bo took it and placed it in a pouch on the side of his horse's side.

As Darnuia walked back to the Gorons, Alazon stood up again. "My congratulations to Bo as well," he began, "But now, let us see what the Gerudo have prepared for us this night. Nabooru?"

"Yes, King Alazon," Nabooru replied as she stood up and Alazon sat down, "Ladies, begin."

And with that, Jonathan heard music that reminded him of Arabian music back on Earth being played by a few of the Gerudo. Suddenly, all of the other Gerudo women rushed into the middle of the Triforce area and began a dance they had practiced to precision over the past few months.

----------

Kasuto approached the area just to the south of Lon Lon Ranch in order to deliver Orizon's message to Alazon. As he walked toward the golden glow from the gathering, he saw a Hylian soldier with a torch in his hand patrolling his designated area of responsibility. Knowing that it would not be wise to get caught sneaking around him, Kasuto simply walked forward into the soldier's line of sight.

"Halt!" the soldier called as he walked over to Kasuto. He complied immediately. "What business do you have here tonight?"

"I have a message to deliver to King Alazon," Kasuto replied honestly, "I mean no harm to anyone here."

"Put your arms up please," the soldier ordered, "I have to search you for weapons."

Sighing, Kasuto put his arms up and placed his hands behind his head while the soldier patted down his body. He understood why he had to do this, but it was still inconvenient for him to waste time like this. The soldier also opened up the pack in front of Kasuto's chest, taking out the small scroll addressed to Alazon.

"Alright, you can enjoy the festival, my friend," the soldier told Kasuto as he handed back the message.

"Thank you," he replied as he approached the gathering area, where he saw that the Gerudo were engaged in their traditional dancing performance. He looked around, trying to find where Alazon would be sitting. He found him after a few moments, wearing a red cape. He walked over to his right side.

Alazon noticed his arrival. "You wish to speak with me, young man?" he inquired.

"I come bearing a message for you, Your Majesty," Kasuto replied as he handed over the scroll to Alazon, "You should read it now."

Alazon took the scroll, broke the seal, unrolled it and began reading.

_Alazon,_

_I am sorry for all the pain that I have caused you and those close to you because of Ganondorf. I will be on the southern wall of Lon Lon Ranch tonight. We need to talk about the endgame in getting rid of Ganondorf._

_Orizon._

It was a short message, but quick and to the point. "Thank you," Alazon told the young man, then realized he didn't know his name, "Er, I don't think I know your name."

"Kasuto, sir," Kasuto informed him.

"Thank you Kasuto," Alazon finish, "Feel free to enjoy the gathering."

Kasuto nodded as he joined those also from Hyrule Castle Town, including his mother. "Kasuto, my dear," his mother, who had red hair and green eyes like her son, but was slightly plump and quite a bit shorter than him, "I thought you were going to stay home tonight. What changed your mind?"

"Orizon wanted me to deliver something," Kasuto explained.

His mother nodded. It was she that originally suggested that Kasuto should try to become an apprentice of sorts of Orizon's. He had asked her mother on multiple occasions why, but she simply kept telling him that she would tell him why when the time was right.

----------

After about an hour, the Gerudo dancers started walking off of the Triforce area, as their dance had ended. Everyone stood up and clapped, for it was a very magnificent performance indeed. Jonathan noticed that while most of the Gerudo walked back toward the area where Nabooru was sitting, two of the Gerudo were walking toward him. "Oh God," Jonathan groaned in despair as he realized who the two were.

"Hello again Jonathan," Junoti greeted as she and Velai sat down in front of him, "Magne told us what you said about our advances, so we decided not to trick you or anything like that."

"I appreciate that," Jonathan replied weakly, not daring to glance toward Zelda. _Zelda must think that I'm cheating on her or something,_ he thought.

However, Zelda herself found the scene quite humorous. "Jonathan, you know these two Gerudo?" she asked.

"Not as well as he probably wishes he knew us," Velai replied for him. The three young women began laughing a moment later at that statement, while Jonathan just blushed. What Velai had just said was partially true.

King Alazon stood up and walked forward a few steps. "A wonderful performance by the Gerudo, thank you Nabooru," he began, "Peoples of Hyrule, we come together on this night every year, in this place, to celebrate the passing of another year. With every year, we harvest the crops we have planted and tended to so that we may have food to eat for the winter. After the winter, we sow the seeds of life once again and tend to the plants that grow from them again. The cycle is unending, without beginning or end, so long as the Goddesses keep watch over our lands.

"Indeed, the Goddesses have blessed us immensely. Just look around us. It may be hard to see now, but this land is so beautiful. To the east of us lies the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods, where the trees grow high and strong, like our Kingdom of Hyrule. North of Kokiri Forest lies Zora's Domain, from which the source of our water comes. The Zora have been charged by the Goddesses with keeping the source of the Zora River safe from harm, and for that all Hyrule thanks you, Queen Rutela and all the Zora." Alazon then bowed toward the Zora.

"Zora River flows across Hyrule Field and eventually finds its way to Lake Hylia in the south," Alazon continued, "Lake Hylia, a place of great beauty and serenity. And north of Lake Hylia lies the unforgiving Haunted Wasteland. And while we may find it strange, Queen Nabooru would attest that this desert has a beauty of its own as well. As she would say, riding through the desert, you feel truly alive. You feel the heat of the sun on your body and the sting of grains of sand against your skin. And these make you feel alive in a way you never have experienced before."

Jonathan heard those words and reflected on his journey through the Haunted Wasteland. He had felt both those things as he traveled to the Spirit Temple. The heat combined with the sting of the grains of sand had made Jonathan constantly aware that he was, indeed, alive, now that he looked back on his experience. For so long on Earth, Jonathan had felt a kind of numb existence. He was alive, but only barely, stuck in what one of his former college professors referred to as the rat race, trying to get ahead in a supposedly meaningless existence. But it was only now that he realized that what he said was partially true. There was something about this simpler life he was living now that made everything that happened on Earth seem like a complete waste of time. He was now more alive than he had ever been before he came to Hyrule.

"All the peoples of Hyrule have been given a divine order by the Goddesses," Alazon continued to explain, "And the Gerudo have the responsibility of protecting the rest of Hyrule from the dangers of the desert. And for that, Queen Nabooru and the Gerudo, all Hyrule thanks you." He then bowed toward the Gerudo.

"To the east of the desert, you will find Death Mountain, which towers above all Hyrule, a halo of clouds circling around it. This halo will glow brightly when the land of Hyrule is in grave danger from evil. I will never forget that halo's glow. It is so terrifying, yet so wondrous to see. However, Death Mountain also holds a latent power that can destroy this land completely and utterly. And so, it is the responsibility of the Gorons, who live inside Death Mountain itself, to keep that disaster from occurring. And so, Darnuia and the Gorons, you who are peaceful giants and eaters of rocks, all Hyrule thanks you as well." Alazon then bowed toward the Gorons. Jonathan noticed that Darbus still appeared angry at what happened earlier. He certainly didn't appear to be a peaceful giant.

"At the foot of Death Mountain is Kakariko Village," Alazon said, "Where the Sheikah once made their home. The Sheikah came to this land many years ago with the Hylians, seeking a new land to call home. Even before we arrived at this blessed land, the Sheikah were given a responsibility by the Goddesses. That duty was to protect the Hylians from harm. However, the Sheikah soon began to dwindle in numbers. They could no longer protect all Hylians. But as many Hylians grew able to defend themselves, they found a new purpose. Their duty now was to protect the Royal Family from harm. And for many years, the Sheikah have performed that duty well. The Sheikah are nearly gone now, but one is here tonight. Impa, for all that you have done for my family personally, and all that your ancestors have done for my ancestors, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. And all Hyrule thanks the Sheikah as well." He bowed to Impa. Jonathan noticed that both Velai and Junoti were looking at Impa with eyes of disdain.

_I guess some wounds never truly heal,_ Jonathan thought sadly. He had noticed that Alazon struggled to give his thanks to the Sheikah. After a few moments of pondering, he remembered what Sheik had told him at the Desert Colossus. _Oh yeah, his wife was a Sheikah as well,_ he recalled. The king's struggle with those words now made perfect sense.

"To the far south lies the provinces of Ordona and Faron. Here many Horonians live. It has been told to us that those areas were where the Horonians originally lived, but that they spread across the land. They are a people who hold malice toward no one. Many are great farmers, ranchers and fishers. Thus, their duty from the Goddesses is to collect the food for the land. And for this, to all Horonians, Hyrule thanks you.

"Finally, to the north lies Hyrule Castle. For years, the Hylians have called the nearby town their own. A long time ago, the Hylians left their land to escape from a great evil that they could not control. Once we arrived to this land, we found a truly blessed land. It is said that Hylians can hear the voices of the Goddesses themselves, and indeed some alive today have attested to hearing them. Therefore, the Hylians have been tasked with the duty of ruling Hyrule with a benevolent hand, able to manage both times of peace and prosperity and times of war and despair.

"So we gather here tonight to give thanks to the Goddesses for our blessings," Alazon concluded, "Let us now give prayers to them for Hyrule's continued prosperity." He then bowed his head and put his hands together in front of his chest and began a silent prayer. Everyone gathered did the same.

Jonathan had always doubted the power of prayer. Most of the things he had prayed for on Earth never came to be. But now, he felt compelled to thank the Goddesses. So he too bowed his head, closed his eyes began praying, _Din, Nayru, and Farore, great Goddesses of the Triforce, I thank you for creating this land that I now walk upon._ He then struggled to find anything else to be thankful for, thinking that his prayer was too short. He then thought of the young woman who was now sitting on his right. _And thank you for Princess Zelda,_ he continued, _Please keep her safe from harm if I cannot do so myself. Amen._

Jonathan opened his eyes again and waited. After about a minute, Alazon opened his eyes again and continued with his speech, "The Goddesses have divided our duties as they have to remind us of something very important. While we are all proud of the burden we bear for the Goddesses, we must remember that no burden is heavier or lighter than another's. Without one race, Hyrule as a whole could not exist as it does now. We must remember that all life is precious and deserving of respect. Every life has a meaning and a purpose. We must always remember this fact."

Alazon waited a minute before he said anything else. Jonathan thought that this pause was to let his words sink into the minds of those listening. "And now, the Zora will grace us with their musical talents," he said as he sat down again.

As soon as Alazon had finished speaking, those five Zora who had musical instruments stood up and prepared to play. One was a drummer, one had a flute, one had a small harp, one had a clarinet (or what Jonathan thought of as a clarinet; he was almost certain it didn't work the way a clarinet did), and one had what appeared to be a guitar of sorts. Princess Ruto also stood up and stood with the others and prepared to begin singing.

"Jonathan, please dance with me," Jonathan heard Junoti say.

"No, he dances with me first," Velai told her friend as Jonathan began to get rather nervous.

Zelda then stood up and took Jonathan's hand in hers. "Sorry girls," she told the two Gerudo with a smile, "But as the Princess of Hyrule, I have preference in matters like this." She then led Jonathan to the center of the Triforce area.

"Thanks," Jonathan told her as they reached their destination, "I needed to get out of that situation quickly."

"Don't mention it," Zelda replied as she placed both of her hands on the back of Jonathan's neck, "Shall we dance?"

"Yes, we shall," Jonathan replied as he placed his hands on Zelda's waist. The feeling of her hands on his neck was absolutely exquisite. It had an immediate soothing sensation on his mind. All of a sudden, he was not conscious of the fact that he was dancing with a princess with her father looking on. He was no longer conscious of the fact that they were in the shadow of an evil king who desired both his and Zelda's death. All that mattered at this moment was Zelda. He was transfixed by her beautiful face, those purple orbs that looked right into his eyes.

Jonathan heard the music the Zoras were playing, but he didn't really hear it all. The music guided his feet, but his gaze could not leave the beautiful young woman he now held and who held him. The two were now bonded as one. Time passed, but he had no recollection of it.

At first, Jonathan and Zelda danced at arms' length away from each other as they slowly traced a circle with their feet. However, as the dance went on, Zelda drew Jonathan closer to her, closing the space between herself and Jonathan. Finally, Jonathan took Zelda in a full embrace, completely closing the distance between them. At this point, Jonathan became more conscious of his surroundings, as Zelda's gaze was no longer on his face. He saw and heard the Zoras playing this song for them to dance to. He saw that he and Zelda were alone on the Triforce area. He also saw that by this time, many outside the ring of torches had lost their interest in their dance, which made him a bit less self-conscious of his actions.

Returning his full attention to Zelda, he looked down slightly in order to see Zelda's face again. It seemed as if he and Zelda were communicating telepathically, as Zelda's head looked up to catch his sight. And then, as if they were talking with their eyes, both agreed to their next action. Jonathan lowered his head and moved his lips onto Zelda's. Both dancers closed their eyes as they shared a passionate kiss that both wished could last forever.

As soon as Jonathan laid his lips on Zelda's, he felt a feeling he had felt before in his life, but never to the magnitude that he felt it now. It was a feeling almost impossible for words to convey, a special mix of so many emotions that combined into one unescapable truth. _I love her,_ Jonathan realized at long last, _I love Zelda._

Finally, Jonathan began raising his head away from Zelda's with great regret, but knew that it had to end eventually. He opened his eyes and saw a similar sadness in Zelda's eyes as he heard the song the Zoras were playing come to an end. As the last notes were played, the crowd around the torches began clapping. Whether it was for Jonathan and Zelda or for the Zoras, Jonathan didn't know. He really didn't even care about that anyway. As he and Zelda walked back to where they had been sitting, an inescapable truth hit Jonathan for the first time. _This is my new home,_ he realized, _I will never leave Hyrule._ His only regret would be that he would never be able to say good-bye to his friends and family back on Earth, but that regret did not come around at this time.

----------

Orizon stood on top of the stone wall that formed the southern boundary of Lon Lon Ranch and looked down on the gathering, waiting for when Alazon would come up to see him. He had watched the dance between Zelda and Jonathan with great interest. _Would Jonathan make a good king?_ he started asking himself, immediately realizing that in this case, that question was completely irrelevant. The real question was not if Jonathan and Zelda were in love either, for that was readily apparent to Orizon.

_The real question,_ Orizon finally decided, _Is if Jonathan can protect Zelda from harm._ And Orizon did not have to think hard about the answer to that question. He remembered how less than four months ago, he had encountered Jonathan at Lake Hylia. He remembered the terrible shape his body had been in. He had a huge bruise under his chin and was obviously physically exhausted at that time. In spite of all that and the extra injuries Orizon must have inflicted upon him, he continued to fight to protect both Zelda and Ruto from him. He was caught completely off-guard by his endurance and his stubborn will and devotion to duty.

_He'll protect Zelda quite well,_ Orizon concluded as he looked back down and saw that Alazon was getting ready to leave the gathering.

----------

Zelda rested her head in Jonathan's lap as the rest of her body lay on the grass beneath them. She looked up at the night sky while Jonathan, who was sitting with his legs crossed at this time, began running his fingers gently through her long blonde hair. At this point, Zelda was contemplating going back to the Forest Temple with Jonathan. It was now plainly obvious to Zelda that she loved Jonathan. _But he has said he loved others in the past,_ she worried to herself, _And that none of them lasted. I don't want that to happen to me._

Zelda shifted her sight slightly to look at Jonathan's face again. She saw that Jonathan wasn't looking right at her face, but she could see enough of his face to sense something about what she had been worrying about. There was a calm serenity in Jonathan's eyes that Zelda sensed immediately. And that serenity she felt from him lay all fears of abandonment to rest. _Jonathan would never leave me,_ she realized, _He loves me, I know it. He has said as much, too._

Zelda slowly began to stand up. Jonathan said nothing as she walked over to her father.

"Zelda, what is it?" Alazon asked his only child.

"Father, I'm feeling tired right now," Zelda replied, "I'd like to return to the Forest Temple with Jonathan now."

Alazon nodded. "Go ahead," he said, "I probably won't be back until tomorrow morning, though, so you'll be alone there."

"That's fine," Zelda responded. _In fact, that's exactly what I want,_ she thought as she turned around and approached Jonathan again. "Jonathan, will you come back to the Forest Temple with me?" she asked.

"Yes," Jonathan answered as he stood up and began walking back to the temple with Princess Zelda. He figured that this was merely for protection. On this occasion, his conclusion was completely wrong.

----------

About ten minutes after this had happened, Alazon decided that it was time to see his old friend. "Attula," he began, "I need to go somewhere now. I should be back before dawn. Make sure things don't get out of hand here while I'm gone."

"Yes Your Majesty," Attula replied as King Alazon left the gathering, walking north past one of the soldiers, who saluted him as he went by. He followed the stone wall that surrounded Lon Lon Ranch until he reached the entrance to the ranch. Looking forward to having many questions answered, he walked south into the area Orizon told him to come to.

----------

Jonathan and Zelda walked through the Main Atrium of the Forest Temple and walked to the door that led to Zelda's room in the temple.

"Jonathan, I had a wonderful time tonight," Zelda said, "Thank you."

"I have to thank you for the same reason," Jonathan replied with a smile.

Finding his smile irresistible, Zelda leaned toward Jonathan. Jonathan did the same and the two shared another warm kiss with each other. After they had broken away from each other, Jonathan said, "Well, I guess I better call it a night. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Wait, Jonathan," Zelda called as Jonathan began walking away from her.

Jonathan looked back at her. "Yes?" he asked.

"Come with me," Zelda requested, "Please."

Suddenly, a thought that hadn't run through his mind before hit him square in the face. He knew exactly what was going to happen if he went with Zelda to her room, and the fact that she was asking him to do this absolutely floored him. "Are you sure, Zelda?" he asked.

"Yes, absolutely," Zelda replied as she nodded her head.

Jonathan thought about it. _Do I really want this?_ was the question he asked himself. To Jonathan, Zelda always had a certain beauty that, he thought, came from the thought of her being unreachable. If he went with her, that beauty would be gone forever and he'd never look at Zelda in the same way again. _But in that case, she's already lost that beauty,_ he figured as he looked at Zelda again. She appeared no different to Jonathan. He loved her no less.

"Don't walk away," Jonathan heard a voice in his head order, "If you walk away, you'll be walking away from the greatest thing that will ever happen to you."

Jonathan did not reply with words. He simply walked back to Zelda as a reply to her. Smiling, Zelda opened the door that led to the courtyard outside her room. Together, they walked through the darkened courtyard, the only light being that of the moon in the sky above. That was bright enough to light the way to a wooden ladder, which Jonathan climbed up first. He turned around once he was on top and saw Zelda was approaching the top of the brick wall. As she reached the last rung, Jonathan reached out his right hand, which she gladly grabbed. He pulled her up onto the walkway and then Zelda led the way into her bedroom.

The moment he stepped inside Zelda's room, Jonathan felt the air around him change completely. He knew that to be allowed into a girl's room was a sign of ultimate trust, a trust that could so easily and inadvertently be betrayed. And a betrayal such as that would never be easily forgiven. And yet, knowing all this, Jonathan felt very much at ease entering this room. He looked around. The first thing he saw was Zelda's bed, which was elevated off of the floor much more than the bed in his room was. In fact, there was a space about 18 inches high between the floor and the bottom of the bed. The bed was about the same length as his, but Zelda's was quite a bit wider, almost twice as wide. _Fitting for a princess,_ Jonathan thought as he looked at it, _That bed is probably really comfortable too._ He then looked at the four wooden posts which held the bed up. The posts extended well past the bottom of the bed frame. They extended upward another six feet, holding aloft and around the bed a translucent covering, which slightly blurred the image of the bed. However, Jonathan could make out that all four posts had decorative carvings on them.

Near the bed was Zelda's dresser, which was considerably larger than Jonathan's. This also made sense to Jonathan, as she probably had many different outfits for various occasions. On top of the dresser was a kit of what Jonathan thought to be make-up, though he thought Zelda looked absolutely breathtaking without any (he knew she hadn't been wearing any tonight). And above this was a small mirror that was hung on the wall at the same level as Zelda's head. It was surrounded by a decorative golden trim.

On the other side of the room, Jonathan saw another mirror hanging on the wall. This one was a full-body mirror that was also surrounded by a decorative golden trim. There was also other furniture in the other parts of the room, but these ceased to hold Jonathan's attention now. His eyes now gazed back toward Zelda, who was looking away from him as she was looking at the room herself, standing between Jonathan and a wooden post at the foot of the bed. Satisfied with the state of the room, she turned back toward Jonathan. "So, what do you think?" she asked with a smile.

There was something about the way Zelda looked at Jonathan and a way she had asked that question that caused a wave of passion to run through his body. Without a word, he walked up to Zelda and began kissing her passionately. Zelda returned the gesture with passionate kissing of her own as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. The sensation of her soft hands touching his exposed skin caused Jonathan to lose even more of his inhibitions. Remembering that Zelda was wearing a long skirt, he gently grabbed the back of her legs and lifted her into the air. This initially caught her by surprise, but Zelda quickly understood what he was meaning to do and in response tightened her grip on the back of Jonathan's neck. Jonathan carried Zelda up to the wooden post of the bed and then carefully pushed her up against it. Zelda balanced her body as they continued with their passionate kissing. By this time, Jonathan's breath was short, shallow, and ragged while Zelda gave out an occasional soft moan, which would fill Jonathan with even more desire. Only a few minutes ago, he was reluctant to fulfill Zelda's wishes. Now he could not even consider leaving without doing so. Unless . . .

After about a minute or two of this passionate rage between the two, Jonathan pulled his head back slightly and took a moment to calm down. He saw that Zelda's face was now flushed and held a pinkish-red hue that delighted his eye. His skin was almost certainly the same, as he felt his face burning from the extra blood rushing to it. "Zelda, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked in as serious a tone of voice as he could muster at this point, his hands still holding Zelda up by the backs of her upper legs.

"Yes," Zelda replied quickly with a terse nod, "Let me down, please?"

Jonathan complied with her request as he allowed Zelda's shoes to feel the ground again. Immediately, Zelda took these shoes off, along with the socks underneath. Simultaneously, Jonathan did the same with his shoes and socks, leaving them where they fell. Zelda then looked at Jonathan's eyes and after a moment he understood what she wanted. Jonathan embraced Zelda in his arms. Zelda did the same as his hands moved up her back to a golden clasp on her dress at the back of her neck. After taking a few seconds to see how the mechanism worked, Jonathan pushed the clasp up, releasing the grip it had held on that portion of Zelda's dress. Zelda could feel her dress loosen around her upper body. She simply closed her eyes let Jonathan continue.

Jonathan moved his hands slowly down Zelda's back as they moved to the next clasp, causing her to emit a soft purr of pleasure with his action. Smiling, his fingers reached the second clasp, which was at the level of Zelda's shoulders. It only took a moment for his fingers to undo the clasps now and Zelda felt her dress get even looser around her body.

Jonathan did the same for the other three remaining clasps on the back of Zelda's dress. With the last clasp, Zelda's back was fully exposed as the dress fell forwards and would have fallen completely off her body except for the fact that Zelda had her arms wrapped around Jonathan's back, which meant that the clothing could not come off her arms. However, she quickly remedied this situation by letting go of Jonathan and allowing the dress to slip off her arms and fall to the floor.

Jonathan gazed at Zelda. The first thing he noticed was that the dresses she wore actually made her breasts look a bit smaller than they actually were, as now he saw that they were of moderate size. He also saw that Zelda was wearing a simple white bra that hooked together behind her back. And of course, Jonathan thought she looked even more beautiful now as she came up to him again and hugged him, encouraging him to continue. Jonathan looked down her back again and found a single similar clasp on the top of her skirt. Moving his hands down to this clasp, he worked it loose, which immediately caused Zelda's skirt to fall around her, revealing her white panties. Zelda now released her grip on Jonathan and smiled. It was her turn.

Her hands moved up Jonathan's chest until they reached the first of the gold buttons on his shirt. Quickly, she undid the button and then moved down to the next one. She continued moving down his chest, beginning to kiss him as she neared the bottom of the shirt. After she had undone the final button, Jonathan quickly worked his way out of the shirt and let it fall to the floor as Zelda undid the buckle on the belt that helped to hold his pants up. She got the belt unbuckled and then pulled it away from Jonathan's pants, which caused the pants to fall down a small amount. Jonathan did the rest of the work, pushing his pants down until they fell the rest of the way to the floor on their own, revealing his white underwear that resembled tight boxer shorts.

In a short amount of time, Zelda would manage to wrench herself away from Jonathan long enough to take off the rest of her clothing, starting with her bra. After she had taken off the rest of her clothes, Jonathan stepped up to her and the two shared a single long kiss. Zelda then lay down face up on her bed as Jonathan took off his underwear. As Zelda looked at Jonathan again, she couldn't help but stare for a moment, while Jonathan also returned the passionate look, full of desire. Then, with a smile, she waved Jonathan to come join her.

"Zelda," Jonathan began to ask.

"Jonathan, please don't ask again," Zelda interrupted.

"No, I was just asking if you had ever done this before," Jonathan corrected, although he understood what Zelda meant.

"Oh. No," Zelda answered as she shook her head.

"Alright, I'll be gentle," Jonathan replied as he climbed onto the bed and got on top of Zelda. He closed his eyes and gave Zelda a long kiss, the final one she would ever give him as a virgin.

----------

Author's Notes: Again, first and foremost, if anyone thinks that this story now deserves an M rating, please tell me via a review. I don't want to be exposing those aged 13 to 16 to things they shouldn't be reading.

And now for a few explanations. When I started this trilogy, I wanted it to explain some of the things that happened after Ocarina of Time. When Twilight Princess was first revealed to the public, it was said that it would take place "decades" after the events of the "adult ending" of Ocarina of Time, with its "child ending" leading directly into Majora's Mask. So I decided to modify my timeline of events to make it so that this trilogy would be consistent with Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess being approximately 40 years apart. Therefore, I have numerous characters in this chapter that appear in one way or another in Twilight Princess. However, before Twilight Princess was released, Nintendo modified the timeline and made the events of that game closer to 400 years after Ocarina of Time than 40 years after. But I will continue to work with my incorrect timeline for the rest of this trilogy.

The 10-year gestation period of the Zora female was something I was forced to make up in order to make my story consistent with this misinformed timeline (yes, Queen Rutela's child will become Prince Ralis from Twilight Princess and the Zora king's grave you get the Zora Armor from is the grave of King Zora XVI). After doing a little searching of Wikipedia, it seems that Zora actually lay eggs to procreate. But I'm going to stick with my story here, as strange as it seems for a child to remain unborn for 10 years.

And the names of the people from Ordon Village are also from Twilight Princess. I decided to name Mayor Bo's father Luke as an homage to the 1970's TV series The Dukes of Hazzard. So that's that.

And if the name Kasuto rings a bell, it is the name of a town (actually, two towns) in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. All the other town names were used as character names in Ocarina of Time, so I decided that a character named Kasuto needed to appear in this trilogy. His heroics don't come until the final part of this trilogy, however, so we won't be seeing much of him for a while.

And the comments about the meaningless life are almost directly from a course I took at Holy Cross last semester on political philosophy. I don't mean to say that I believe our existence is meaningless at all, because it isn't to me. But sometimes, you are told something you don't understand at the time, and it is only through further experience that you recall what was said and you realize it makes a whole lot of sense.

And the comments between Jonathan and Zelda about who will win the finals in sumo wrestling are a homage to a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Just type in "Monty Python Falling from Building" into a YouTube search and you'll see. The sketch is also quite humorous. Just remember to watch the version from Monty Python's Flying Circus, not the version from the movie ...And Now for Something Completely Different. The former is much better, trust me.

So, a lot to digest from this chapter. So much that I am considering posting the next chapter two weeks from now. If you are opposed to this idea, please tell me as much in your reviews. Oh, and there are now six chapters to go.

Well, that's all for now. A new chapter is coming soon. In the meantime, read, review and enjoy.


	28. Chapter 27: Two Old Friends

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all the readers who read my story in the past week, and a special thanks to all those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Okay, so one vote for no M rating. Again, the story if basically finished at this point. The only reason why I was thinking about posting this chapter two weeks after the previous one was to give readers more time to read that extremely long chapter. Thanks for the support.

Dath Mel: Okay, I'll keep it at T for now. Thanks for the compliments and the support.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, I'm glad I inspired you to continue working on your fanfic. The second and third parts of the trilogy, Dark Apprentice and Hero of Worlds respectively, will be separate stories. And I hope to start posting Dark Apprentice in 2009, but no promises about that. Thanks for the support.

I decided to continue the once a week schedule. I intended the two week period for the benefit of the readers, since the previous chapter was so long. But it seems that you've had no trouble getting through it, so we continue now.

Oh, and I hope everyone here had a very merry Christmas and/or a very good holiday season.

On a more tragic note, my sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of those killed and injured in the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, especially to the friends and family of late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Let us remember that these terrorists are never justified in their actions, and their cowardice has never been more apparent than now. To kill an unarmed woman just because they do not agree with her policies is unjustified and it disgusts me that human beings can actually do this. These religious extremists MUST be tracked down and destroyed, without exception. And let us remember that in death, Mrs. Bhutto's voice will speak louder than it ever could have in life.

And now that I have vented my anger at the backwardness of fundamentalist Islam, it is time for a few flashbacks.

**Chapter 27: Two Old Friends**

King Alazon walked to the south end of Lon Lon Ranch and found a ladder against the stone wall that led up to the top of the wall. It had been a long time since he had talked to Orizon, a man he believed he could trust with his life and, what was more important, the life of his family. As a Sheikah, that was his sworn duty from birth. And the fact that Orizon was related by blood to his family made what Orizon did even more perplexing. Alazon needed answers, and he knew he was about to get them.

As he stepped onto the top of the wall, he walked forward until he came to the edge. Looking down, he had a view of the gathering from above. By this time, those present were engaged in multiple different activities. The Gorons were talking with Bo of Ordona about his wrestling technique. The Gorons were listening to him very intently. Many of the children from Ordona were now playing their children's games, running around over the field, chasing each other, smiling and laughing as they went. The smiles and laughing calmed Alazon's spirit. Many of the Gerudo women appeared to be stalking around the groups of Hylians and Horonians, seeming especially interested in the men in these groups. Some isolated men already had Gerudo dancing around them in a stimulating way. The Zora were still playing their music and there were multiple couples dancing inside the ring of torches.

Alazon sighed. He knew that as soon as the sun came up again, his troubles would all return. He now had to think about how he would deal with Ganondorf. He wasn't sure if Jonathan was ready to take on a great evil being like him. And he would need help getting into Hyrule Castle. First of all, Jonathan would have to sneak weapons into Hyrule Castle Town, which would be impossible to do during the day through the drawbridge. He'd have to sneak in at night somehow. And if he got to the castle, he'd need a guide of some kind.

"My old friend, it is good to see you again," Alazon heard from his left, interrupting his line of thought, "Though I wish it could be under better circumstances."

Alazon nodded. "Don't we all?" he asked rhetorically as he turned to look at Orizon, "You haven't changed much, it seems."

"On the contrary, I have changed very much, Alazon," Orizon corrected as he sat down next to the king, "This past year has changed me in ways I hope you will never experience."

"I'm sure you're right," Alazon replied as he too sat down, "But Orizon, you wrote in your message that you needed to talk to me about getting rid of Ganondorf."

Orizon nodded. "In good time," he said, "But if you don't mind, I'd like to look back on how we got to where we are now first."

"I guess that might be in order," Alazon conceded, "In order to understand where you are, you have to understand the path you have walked."

"Indeed, very true," Orizon said, "Alazon, do you remember who it was that first initiated your relationship with Eleza?"

Alazon had to think for about ten seconds, for that event happened so long ago. "I honestly can't remember who it was," he finally answered, "For it happened so long ago. I do remember it happened during the War of Chaos."

Orizon nodded. "Yes, it happened then," Orizon confirmed, "But I happen to remember that it was you who started the relationship, or rather, sought to begin the relationship."

Alazon thought again, then nodded, recalling the events. "Yes, that's right," he agreed, "I can still remember the first time I laid my eyes on my dear Eleza." A few tears began welling up in Alazon's eyes upon his remembering these past events.

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"You cannot be serious!" King Alazon shouted as he stood up from his throne, "You lost the outpost?"

"Yes Your Majesty," the leader of the five surviving soldiers said meekly, "We were caught completely off guard. We never stood a chance. We were lucky just to make it out of Lake Hylia alive."

The 27-year-old king was furious. "Your orders were to protect that outpost at all costs!" he half-shouted at the soldiers, who were now cowering in fear, "How were you caught off guard by those fucking imps? You had the best vantage point in that area to see any kind of assault coming. And I had garrisoned you with enough men and weaponry to hold off any kind of attack until reinforcements arrived. And I had given you enough provisions to keep all those men healthy for a whole six months!"

"Your Highness, the invasion came from underneath the outpost," the leader of the soldiers explained, "They came from the Water Temple, from which we were most vulnerable."

Alazon walked down to the same level as the soldiers. "But we had someone looking out for that kind of attack, I'm sure of it," he replied, "Someone was to be keeping a watch over the entrance of the Water Temple at all times, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," the soldier replied.

"Did you hear any sign of an attack from that soldier?" the king asked.

The soldier hesitated to answer. "No Your Majesty, none of us had any warning whatsoever," he finally said.

"Well, then that means that whoever was supposed to keep watch over the Water Temple entrance wasn't doing his job, doesn't it?" Alazon asked rhetorically as he looked at the other four soldiers. He saw that one of them was quivering slightly. "You," Alazon demanded as he pointed at the quivering soldier who was down on his knee, "Stand up."

The soldier hesitated, but realized that he had no choice. He stood up.

Alazon walked up to this man. "What is your name, young man?" he asked serenely.

"It's Walter, Your Highness," Walter replied. He was very worried at the tone of voice his king had just used to ask him that question.

"How long have you been in the military, Walter?" Alazon inquired, again using a serene voice.

"Well, uh, I joined three years ago," Walter answered, still worried, "I never knew we'd be in a war like this."

"If you did, would you have joined?" Alazon asked.

"Well, no, I'm sorry Your Majesty, but I wouldn't have," Walter replied, now very worried about where this conversation was going.

"Oh, don't be so worried about that Walter," the king assured, "I think if anyone knew this kind of war was coming, they wouldn't have joined the military. That answer is nothing to be ashamed of."

Walter sighed with relief.

"However, as we are in this kind of war now," Alazon continued, "You understand and fulfill the duties that are assigned to you, correct?"

"Yes Your Highness," Walter replied immediately, a smile breaking across his face, "I fulfill all my duties."

Alazon paused for a moment. "No, you didn't," he corrected, the serene voice now gone, as he turned and walked back toward his throne.

"Your Majesty?" Walter asked, the smile now gone, "I don't understand what you mean."

"Sergeant," Alazon began toward the leader of the soldiers, "It was Walter's responsibility to watch the entrance of the Water Temple at the time the attack came, wasn't it?"

The sergeant hesitated. He did not want to answer that question. In addition he was shocked at the abilities of deduction that the young king had just displayed.

"Sergeant, it is your duty to answer the questions of your king," Alazon reminded, "I know you wish to defend your fellow soldiers, and for that you are a noble man. But you must answer me. Walter was watching the Water Temple entrance at the time of the attack, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was," the sergeant confirmed reluctantly.

Walter was now quivering again. "Walter, do you have anything you wish to tell me?" Alazon asked quite calmly.

Walter didn't do anything for a few seconds, then began crying. "I'm sorry Your Majesty! I am so sorry!" he cried, "I fell asleep on guard duty! It's my fault!"

Alazon walked up to Walter and placed his right hand on his left shoulder. "It's all right Walter," he said serenely again, "Everyone makes mistakes in life. Even I make mistakes"

Walter looked up, his spirit lifted by the thought of hope for mercy. "I shall never do it again, Your Highness, I swear it," Walter assured.

"Yes, well, tell that to the 89 men who were counting on you to be their warning call," Alazon replied angrily, "Eighty-five of whom are now dead. You were told that falling asleep on guard duty was akin to treason."

Walter lowered his head again. "Yes," was all he could muster.

"Walter, get down on your knees," the king ordered.

"Your Majesty, please," the sergeant protested, "Not like this."

Alazon pulled his sword from its sheath. "Sergeant, would you like to punish this traitor yourself?" he asked.

The sergeant shook his head. "I can't do that," he replied, "I just can't do that."

Alazon looked at Walter, who was now on his knees, his upper body extended out parallel to the floor. There were no rugs of any kind under him. "Let this be a lesson to all those who would neglect their duties not only to myself and the Kingdom of Hyrule, but also to their fellow soldiers," he declared, "Walter, do you have any final words?"

"I'm," Walter began, talking through tears, "I'm sorry."

"Your Highness, let me deal with this incompetent fool," Alazon heard a familiar voice call from the other end of the royal chamber.

Alazon looked in the direction of the voice. "Orizon," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened at Lake Hylia, and I came right away," the Sheikah dressed in purple answered, "For if you will lend me one of your soldiers, I think one of my apprentices can take back your outpost at Lake Hylia."

"Orizon, you have already lost three of your apprentices to this war," Alazon reminded, "I don't want you to lose any more."

"Alazon," Orizon said sternly, catching the king's attention immediately, "It is the duty of my apprentices to defend you from harm. Let us do our jobs."

Alazon looked at Orizon for a moment, then sheathed his sword again. "What is your plan?" he asked.

"Perhaps I should leave that to the one who'll be partaking in this excursion," Orizon replied as he clapped his hands together once.

At that, another Sheikah, a bit shorter than Orizon, walked into the hall. Alazon could see immediately that this was a female Sheikah, for she had long white hair that extended down to her waist. He could also see the bulge in the clothes of her upper torso, giving her away as a female. She was wearing blue robes, but her face was also veiled.

"King Alazon," Orizon began, "Meet my eighth apprentice, Eleza."

With that, she lifted the veil from her face. Her face had rather soft features for a Sheikah. Her ears were slightly shorter than normal. Her nose was not as pointed as it was with most Sheikah. Her cheeks were also rounder than normal. And her eyes . . . Alazon couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something special about those eyes. His immediate thought was that she was extremely beautiful.

"Hello King Alazon," she greeted in a voice that seemed to resonate inside the king's head, "I believe you have met my elder sister, Impa."

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"What was the first thing that ran through your mind when you first saw her face?" Orizon inquired.

"All I could think of was how beautiful she was," Alazon answered, "For a Sheikah, she was extremely attractive, even as she grew older with me."

Orizon nodded in agreement. "Yes, that is true," he said, "She had always been very beautiful. But that beauty hid that while she wasn't the warrior that her sister was, she was a very skilled fighter in her own right. Before the war began, she would often use her talents to weed out those who were conspiring against your father."

"How so?" Alazon inquired. He had never heard about that before.

Orizon chuckled. "She certainly did not enjoy it, but those conspirators who opened their hearts to her ended up losing their lives," he mused.

Alazon understood what he meant. "All you had to do was to disguise her with shorter ears and eyes that weren't red," Alazon finished for Orizon, "A very simple task for a Sheikah to perform. Once that was done, her beauty and charm would take over."

"Exactly," Orizon confirmed, "And of course, by the time you married her, you knew that you were not the first man she laid in a bed with. Were you ever suspicious of her cheating on you?"

"No," Alazon replied immediately, "She would never do that to me."

"Are you saying that because you love her or because we Sheikah are extremely loyal to our mates?" Orizon inquired.

"Both," Alazon answered, "But I never heard about this side of her before. She never told me."

"Well, now you know about that," Orizon said, "Eleza actually took a rather perverse pleasure in her work before she met you in person." Orizon chuckled a little. "I remember this one poor fool who ended up losing his . . . "

"Please don't finish that sentence," Alazon interrupted, knowing exactly where that comment was going, "A traitor is a traitor, it doesn't matter how they are dealt with, as long as they are dead."

"Oh trust me, Eleza killed him," Orizon assured, "But she did a number on him. That poor foolish bastard."

----------

"Eleza, what is your plan?" Alazon asked, "How will you gain back the outpost single-handedly?"

"I will not do it single-handedly," Eleza corrected, "I will need to have the services of one of your soldiers. Preferably, one who will follow orders to the letter." She looked down at Walter. "His name is Walter, correct?" she asked.

"Yes," Alazon replied, "And he will be executed for treason once you leave."

Eleza walked up to the kneeling soldier. "Walter, stand up straight and look at me," she ordered.

Walter did nothing. Eleza repeated her order, but again he did not budge.

"Dammit, do what she tells you," Alazon demanded with an annoyed voice. Immediately, Walter stood up and faced Eleza, who stared into his brown eyes for a good amount of time. He quivered under the gaze of her blood red eyes.

"He'll do just fine, Your Highness," Eleza said as she looked back at Alazon, "I'd like to take him with me."

"Eleza, this soldier was sleeping on guard duty," he informed, "He cannot be trusted to follow orders."

"I say he can," Eleza replied stubbornly.

"Um, just exactly what will you have me do, Miss Eleza?" Walter asked timidly.

"You'll be used as bait," she replied simply.

"Bait," Walter said, obviously not realizing what that meant. A few moments later, it hit him. "BAIT!?" he shouted as his eyes went wide.

"Yes, bait," Eleza replied simply, "There's no way I can get inside of that outpost if all those imps are still in there. Walter, all you'll have to do is lure the imps inside the outpost away from it. I will be waiting in the passage between Lake Hylia and Zora's Domain. Once the imps have left, I will swim toward the Water Temple entrance and seal it off. Then, I will get onto the central island in the lake, where the outpost is, and get inside. I will place explosives at various points throughout the outpost and then leave. When the imps return, they will have no idea what hit them. And without reinforcements from the Water Temple, those few that survive will be torn apart by your forces, King Alazon."

Alazon thought for a moment about the plan that had been presented to him. "What makes you think that all the imps in that outpost will come chasing after Walter here when they see him?" he asked.

"The very mindset of an imp, Your Majesty," Eleza replied, "When an imp sees an enemy, or even hears about one's presence, they all swarm after it, hoping to claim its life. You see, imps actually feast on the life force of other beings. They will all swarm after Walter, giving me a clear way into the outpost. And I'll be able to deal with a single imp here and there, don't worry about that."

"How will you seal the entrance to the Water Temple?" the king asked.

"The large blue crystal above the entrance is actually a switch of sorts," Eleza explained, "By removing the crystal, the Water Temple entrance will be sealed by a stone slab. The imps inside will have no way of getting out."

"I can't do this!" Walter cried out suddenly, "I'm not letting myself be used as food for those vile beasts!"

"Walter, if you don't do it, King Alazon will cut off your head," Eleza reasoned, "If you help me, at least you'll have a chance at survival. And if you do just as I'll tell you, you should turn out fine."

Walter started looking back and forth between Alazon and Eleza, trying to decide what he should do. He did this three times and was doing it a fourth time when Alazon grabbed the hilt of his sword. That was enough motivation for him. "Alright, alright, I'll do it," Walter finally said, "But if I come back alive, may I live?"

"Not only that, but you will not need to fight anymore, for you'll no longer be one of my soldiers," Alazon informed, "From this point forward, you are no longer a member of the Hylian Army."

"Um, yes Your Majesty, thank you," Walter replied uncertainly.

"Follow me," Eleza told Walter as she walked back down the hallway.

"Sergeant, gather up as many soldiers as you need to retake that outpost," Alazon ordered, "Be ready to strike at Lake Hylia at a moment's notice. The signal will be the sound of bombs going off."

"Yes Your Highness," the sergeant replied as he marshaled the other three soldiers out of the hall.

Alazon sat back down on his throne. _Heavens above, she is beautiful,_ was what he thought about Eleza.

----------

"Love at first sight, was it?" Orizon asked.

"I suppose so," Alazon answered, "I never learned what happened to Walter, though."

"Killed by imps," Orizon informed, "Quite viciously, I should say. He couldn't even stay alive long enough to keep Eleza out of danger, for the imps came back early enough to see her leaving by water."

"So the imps who survived tried to ambush her as she left Zora's Domain?" Alazon asked.

"Yes, and they would have succeeded in killing her," Orizon replied, "Except that a certain someone was around to save her."

Alazon thought for a moment. "Is there irony in this answer?" he inquired.

Orizon smiled. "Absolutely," he replied.

----------

Eleza didn't wait around to hear the bombs go off. She had triple-checked the fuses and knew that they would not fail her. When she reached Zora's Domain, she figured she was as safe as one could be in these times. Because of this, and because of all the physical activity she had just put her body through, she began on the way back to Hyrule Castle by walking instead of running, as Sheikah were trained to do. This would nearly be her undoing.

She was walking over the bridge that marked the middle point of the Zora's River Valley, when she suddenly felt the air temperature around her drop quite suddenly. Knowing what that meant, she began running as fast as she could toward Hyrule Field. _How the hell did they find me so quickly?_ she wondered to herself as she glanced back over her left shoulder to see just what she was up against.

What Eleza saw made her seriously doubt her odds of survival. A huge, solid mass of black was roaring with cackles of evil laughter and roars of monstrous appetites. She guessed that there were at least 40 imps right behind her, more than any single individual could hope to handle. Her only choice was to keep running and warn the soldiers on Hyrule Field about this.

However, that plan was thwarted just as Hyrule Field came into Eleza's sight. Just as she saw Hyrule Field about 200 feet ahead of her, a large rock hit her in the right shoulder from behind, immediately knocking her to the ground. She tried to get back up on her feet, even though she knew at this point that she was as good as dead. The imps would be on top of her almost instantly.

Except that an explosion came from behind her at that same moment. Along with the explosion came shouts of pain and the commotion of confusion as the mass of imps came to a stop. Eleza looked ahead of her and saw a black boot leaving the ground. She turned over to see who had come to her rescue. As the person landed on the ground behind her and rushed at the remaining imps, she saw that he was clothed mostly in black, but that his short hair was red. He stood a bit more than six feet tall and was swinging a black saber around with reckless abandon, yelling with each stroke, and with each stroke fell another imp.

Eleza got back on her feet and was preparing to assist the man, but saw quickly that there would be no need to. He had already cut down all but a few of the imps, who were now trying to run away. None of them made it very far, as the young man cut down every last one before turning to look back at Eleza. She saw that he had golden eyes and watched as a smirk crossed his face as he sheathed his sword.

"You must be one of Orizon's followers," the young man said in a very deep voice, "But I'm not so sure now that I think about it. His girls usually don't look this nice."

Eleza knew exactly who this man was. "King Ganondorf," she greeted reluctantly, "I guess I owe you my life."

Ganondorf chuckled a little to himself as he walked up next to the Sheikah. "Don't bother, I'm not interested," he said as he walked off back to his horse. This left Eleza shaking her head as he rode off to the west.

----------

"Ganondorf, huh?" Alazon stated, "I wonder if she was more upset that she was about to die or that she was saved by him, of all people."

Orizon nodded. "Eleza never thought she would owe her life to a Gerudo," he told Alazon, "Perhaps be backstabbed by one, but never saved by one."

"It's quite ironic that Ganondorf would also end up killing her as well," Alazon spoke with a serene voice toward Orizon.

Orizon knew that voice was usually a messenger of death. Alazon had worked it down to a science over the years, and even though Orizon knew that Alazon wasn't going to kill him here, it still was a bit unnerving. "No, it is no longer really Ganondorf," he informed, "There is one story about the war that I never told you. One involving how the war itself ended. And how Ganondorf would suffer the most from it."

----------

The calm of the night was shattered by a series of explosions. Lon Lon Ranch had been rocked by a surprise attack by imps an hour before dawn. It was the first attack by imps on anything in Hyrule in the past four months.

From the western side of Hyrule Field, a figure clad in black looked at the chaos. His golden eyes saw the areas immediately around the ranch illuminated by fire. He heard the fires burning and the sounds of panic from those who survived. Something else caught his attention as well. He saw what appeared to be a person cloaked in blue leave the ranch. He could see that the figure was that of a young woman. Moreover, he saw that she was laden with an unborn child.

"YAH!" he shouted as he dug the spikes on the back of his black boots lightly into the body of his horse, who was covered by a coat of black hair. The horse neighed and reared on its hind legs, then came down and galloped forward, young King Ganondorf guiding it to the woman in distress. He pulled out his black saber as he drew closer, for the imps were closing in on her.

"Ugh!" the young woman grunted as she tripped and fell to the ground on her side. She had been spending the night in Lon Lon Ranch, but just could not get any sleep. Something kept telling her that she could not afford to sleep tonight. She tried to get up, but she just did not have the strength to keep going. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. She could feel the cold grip of an imp on her leg already.

"Hi-YAH!" Ganondorf yelled as he swung his saber, killing the imp instantly. He jumped off his horse and ran to the woman's side as the steed gradually slowed to a stop some good ways away from him. "Are you alright?" he asked the woman.

The woman opened her eyes and looked at the man who now looked at her. "A Gerudo?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, both heard the screeches of dozens of imps from nearby. "No time to explain that," Ganondorf said as he helped the woman to her feet, "You must get to safety. Head east until you find a tunnel through a large tree. It leads to Kokiri Forest. Evil will not harm you there."

"But those imps will get me before I get there," she contended as they went as fast as she could to the east.

"I'll hold them off," Ganondorf claimed, "You just worry about that child of yours."

From behind, Ganondorf could hear the scurrying feet of his enemies. "Go!" he shouted as he stopped and turned around, "You can make it!"

The woman continued running to the east, where she would find Kokiri Forest. Meanwhile, Ganondorf saw what seemed to be a wall of imps coming right at him. "Come on, you dirty fiends! We'll go to the pool of nothingness together!" he shouted as he swung his saber, waiting for them.

Orizon watched from the tower in Kakariko Village as Ganondorf fought for his life against hundreds of imps, each one more fierce and desperate as the last. But from what Orizon saw, he enjoyed it. Indeed, he was laughing through the slaughter, taunting the imps unceasingly. This continued for 20 minutes, when the flow of imps ceased.

"So, you've gone away, huh?" Ganondorf cried, not in the least bit tired, "What a lot of cowards!"

Suddenly, a dark hole appeared in the nearby air. Lightning coursed out of it as a shadowy figure appeared. Orizon could barely make it out from his perch, and once he figured out what had happened, he hurried toward Ganondorf with all the speed he could muster. But it was already far too late.

"What manner of beast are you?" Ganondorf asked, swinging his saber around.

"I am Ganon," the figure replied, "And you will be my slave."

Ganondorf barked a laugh at Ganon. "I shall serve no imp," he claimed as he rushed at Ganon and tried to slice him in half. However, the imp avoided the strike and then grabbed onto Ganondorf's face with its claws.

"Go ahead, kill me," Ganondorf demanded, "You won't survive what King Alazon has in store for you."

"Kill you?" Ganon asked with his cold, chilling voice, "Ganondorf of the Gerudo, you are far too important to be killed." And with that, Ganon began to dissolve and stream into Ganondorf's mouth which Ganon was holding open. Ganondorf felt a terrible chill run through his entire being as he was forced to swallow the evil imp king. It was a pain more terrible than anything he had ever felt before, like his entire body was being frozen solid. He finally felt the cold grip of the claws leave his face as the last of Ganon's being entered his body. He fell to his knees as the pain coursed through his entire body. _Just let me die,_ he thought as he finally passed out from the pain.

----------

"That woman he saved would give birth to Link in the Kokiri Forest," Orizon related to Alazon, "However, partly due to her encounter with the imps, she would suffer mortal injuries during childbirth."

"And the Kokiri raised Link as one of their own," Alazon said, knowing how Link's story continued from there, "That is ironic how Ganondorf saved the life of the one who would defeat his dreams of domination."

"But you see, once Ganon entered Ganondorf's body, the Ganondorf we once knew ceased to exist," Orizon explained, "He was replaced by an evil being, biding his time to take what had been denied to him."

"It all makes sense now," Alazon claimed, "Why he's so different now. Orizon, why did you never tell me about this?"

"I thought it didn't matter at first," Orizon explained, "When Ganondorf woke up, he acted completely normal to me. I figured that he had defeated Ganon. By the time I knew something was wrong, Ganondorf had your complete trust. There was nothing I could do to stop him."

"So, how would you suggest getting rid of Ganondorf?" Alazon asked.

Orizon smiled. "Just leave it up to Jonathan and your daughter," he answered as he stood up, "They'll take care of Ganondorf. And then I'll redeem myself fully to you, I promise." And with that Orizon started walking north, back to the castle.

Alazon took one last look at the gathering before he decided to head back down to it. He knew that Zelda would probably have a plan of attacking Ganondorf to tell him the moment he returned to the Forest Temple. And, seeing as she had the Triforce of Wisdom, the plan would be as close to infallible as could be. And with the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword, Jonathan would not be denied victory.

The thought of his daughter and Jonathan reminded Alazon of the last encounter he had with his daughter. He remembered what his daughter had told him and chuckled to himself. _She wasn't tired, she just wanted to get away from here . . . with Jonathan,_ he realized, _I just hope Impa doesn't stumble upon them in bed together, or else I'd have to go through another of her nagging sessions._ In truth, King Alazon cared about his daughter more than anything else in his world, for she was the last thing he had left now. But he also realized that Zelda was an adult now. _If she is making a mistake, she'll have to learn its lesson on her own,_ he reasoned, _Besides, Jonathan is a fine young man. I couldn't ask for a better man to court with my daughter._

And with that, Alazon stood up and made his way back down to the gathering.

----------

Author's Notes: This chapter explains a bit more of the events that transpired before Ocarina of Time, specifically, the war that the Deku Sprout referred to after getting through the Forest Temple. This chapter also shows a theme about the Zelda games in recent years; the utter incompetence of the Hylian Army. Also explained are the origins of Ganon, which is just my story, not canon.

Five chapters left.

New chapter next week. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.


	29. Chapter 28: Plan of Action

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all the people who read my story in the past week. And a special thanks to all those who submitted a review.

SPark681: Thanks for your continued support. The fight with Ganondorf is coming up soon. In fact, it starts next week.

Infernal Flame Zero: Well, Ganondorf wasn't killed by imps. That's the reason why he's such a problem now. Thanks for your support.

Kanamay: ...Hmm, interesting idea. I might have to use that one. However, the "what" is not as important as the "why," which you will find out when Jonathan finds out. Thanks for your continued support.

And now, lets get back to our love birds.

**Chapter 28: Plan of Action**

Zelda stirred from her sleep about an hour after sunrise. She lay on her left side and felt a warmth against the back of her body and on her chest. Zelda smiled when she realized what this warmth was coming from; Jonathan was snuggled up next to Zelda with his right arm draped over her chest. Slowly, so as not to disturb Jonathan's sleep, Zelda reached down, grabbed the blanket that was covering her body from the waist down, and pulled it up to cover her chest as well. Her thoughts then returned to what had happened between Jonathan and herself last night. And she smiled again at the pleasure she had experienced with him.

About five minutes later, Jonathan began to awaken from his sleep as well. As he opened his eyes, his sight was filled up by Zelda's blonde hair. He smiled as he took a long sniff and still smelled a scent that was a most beautiful one to him. Jonathan's ears then heard Zelda giggle.

"Did I wake you up, Zelda?" he asked quietly.

"No, I was awake before you," Zelda replied, "But I wouldn't be surprised if it were midday right now."

Jonathan laughed at that statement. "And why wouldn't that surprise you?" he inquired as he wrapped both his arms firmly around his lover's chest.

Zelda giggled again before saying, "Well, you kept me up for so long last night, I thought I'd never get to sleep."

Jonathan laughed and blushed in response to that. "Well, I'm sorry I kept you up so late," he apologized.

Zelda sat up slowly on the bed, turning her body and putting her feet on the floor, temporarily escaping from Jonathan's grasp. "I actually wish you could have kept me up longer, Jonathan," Zelda admitted.

Jonathan sat up in the bed and wrapped his arms around Zelda's torso again, although he was now feeling the blanket that now draped the front of Zelda's body instead of her warm skin. "Well then, I'm sorry I couldn't keep you up," Jonathan whispered into her right ear, "But I did the best I could."

Zelda smiled as she felt Jonathan's lips press against her shoulder. She reached up with her right hand until she felt his hair in her hand. She then brought her hand down lightly on the top of Jonathan's head, leaving her left arm to hold up the blanket covering her. Jonathan continued to kiss her right shoulder until he felt Zelda's other hand on the left side of his face. He looked up to find Zelda looking at him with soft eyes that told Jonathan what he needed to do now. Zelda's hands moved behind Jonathan's head as he moved his lips to meet with hers. As they kissed, Jonathan moved his arms so that he embraced Zelda's head and neck in the same way that she held his. For what seemed to last an eternity to the two lovers, they shared in this kiss and this embrace.

When Jonathan finally opened his eyes as Zelda's lips parted from his, he noticed that the blanket that Zelda had been covering herself with had dropped down to her waist. He reached down and grabbed the blanket to cover her again, but Zelda stopped him by lightly grabbing his wrist.

"Don't bother," she explained as she moved his arm down, "I can dress myself when I need to."

Jonathan nodded as he let go of the blanket, letting it fall around her waist again. He looked at Zelda for a moment before turning his body so that his chest faced her back, his feet coming to rest on the floor beside Zelda's. Once again, he wrapped his arms around her chest and lowered his head onto her left shoulder.

"Zelda, you are so beautiful," Jonathan whispered as he began kissing her left shoulder.

"I think you've told me something like that before," Zelda replied with a smile as she felt Jonathan's hands begin to wander as well, "And now I know you really meant that."

"What, you doubted me when I said that?" Jonathan asked in a tone of mock offense, now moving to Zelda's neck.

"You can never be sure if you're being lied to," Zelda responded as she felt Jonathan's lips graze against her neck, "But after last night, I'm sure now that was no lie."

"Speaking of last night," Jonathan began as he pulled his head back a little bit, "I ought to start making your breakfast. We made a bet and I lost, fair and square."

Zelda smiled and blushed slightly before she spoke again. "May I ask for something different?" she inquired quietly.

"Depends on what that something different is," he answered.

Zelda leaned her body to the right before turning her head to the left in order to look at Jonathan again. "Jonathan," she began in a quiet voice, "Make love to me again."

Jonathan was stunned by that particular wish for a moment. He would have to get used to Zelda actually wanting to do this sort of thing. He looked into her eyes. "You're serious," he said. It wasn't a question.

Zelda simply nodded her head.

"Well, I don't know if I can do that again right now," Jonathan replied.

Zelda glanced down momentarily at Jonathan's body. "I think your body is saying otherwise," she said with a smile as she looked back up to Jonathan's face.

Jonathan was confused for a moment about what Zelda meant by that until he too looked down at himself. Then he saw exactly what she meant and blushed. "Well, I guess you're right," he managed to say through his laughs.

Zelda shared with that laugh. "So, how about it?" she asked again.

Jonathan didn't need to be asked three times. He just needed to ask about something important that came to his mind just now. "Um, Zelda," he began to ask, "How do you know you won't become pregnant because of this?"

To Jonathan's great surprise, Zelda laughed in reply. "People from your world can't control when they conceive?" she inquired.

"Well, we can," Jonathan explained, "But not by our own free will."

"Well, I can control that myself," Zelda explained, "And let me just say that I'm not looking to have children right now."

Jonathan sighed with relief. "Well, neither am I," he agreed, his relief apparent in the tone of his voice. _Though when I'm ready, I want to have them with you,_ he thought.

Zelda and Jonathan shared a short laugh. Then Zelda looked into Jonathan's eyes with a passion that Jonathan recognized. "So, how about it?" she asked again.

"Good idea," Jonathan replied with a smile growing across his face, "I was never a great cook, you know."

Zelda laughed as she lay back on her bed again. "But you are a wonderful lover," she retorted, making Jonathan smile as he crawled up Zelda's body.

However, all of a sudden a look of concern filled Zelda's face. "Jonathan, stop," she whispered as she turned her head toward the door that led out of the room, straining to listen for something.

Jonathan did not move or say anything until Zelda's fear was confirmed. "Jonathan, I think Impa is coming," she warned.

Suddenly, Jonathan began to panic. _If Impa sees me like this with Zelda, I'm a dead man,_ he thought, _I've got to get out of here. But Impa would see me leaving and she'd get suspicious and . . . oh, what do I do?_

"Zelda," Jonathan whispered, "You know what Impa will do if she sees me in here, even with my clothes on. You have any bright ideas?"

Zelda paused in thought for about three seconds before she said, "There should be enough room under the bed for you to hide there."

Jonathan nodded as he leapt off of the bed and crawled under it. "Yeah, I got some room under here," he remarked, "I just got to control the sound of my breathing." He then laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" Zelda asked as she got out of the bed and retrieved her panties from off of the floor nearby.

"The irony of my situation," Jonathan replied, "I'm about to use one of the techniques Impa taught me to hide from her. The student defeating the teacher, at its finest."

"Yes," Zelda commented as she quickly put her panties on, "But that would mean nothing right now."

"How so?" Jonathan inquired.

"Impa will know you're in here because your clothes are on the floor here," she informed with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Jonathan just lay under the bed for a few seconds, shaking his head in disbelief. "I am such an idiot," he finally said.

Zelda giggled as she retrieved his clothes and tossed them under the bed. She then walked over to her bra on the floor, picked it up, and put it on before placing her dress and skirt on her dresser. That done, she listened outside her door again and then got into her bed, covering herself with the blankets there and turned her body away from the door, trying to appear to be sleeping.

About 15 seconds later, Jonathan and Zelda both heard the knob of the door being turned and the creak of the door's hinges as it opened slowly. Impa peered into the room and saw Zelda lying on her bed, her back toward the door and her body mostly covered by her blankets. Looking around, Impa saw Zelda's dress lying on her dresser, which wasn't very unusual for her to do before she went to bed. However, even though Impa couldn't see anything truly out of place, she felt that something wasn't quite right in the room. She then noticed that Zelda's side was rising and falling too fast; she was faking sleep.

"Sorry Zelda, but I can see you're not sleeping," Impa said quietly.

Slowly, Zelda turned onto her other side to look at her aunt. "I just don't want to get up, that's all," she replied tiredly.

Impa walked over to the side of Zelda's bed, an action that nearly made Jonathan's heart skip a beat or two. "Did you have a good time last night?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the mattress and put her left hand on Zelda's shoulder.

Zelda nodded slowly. "Oh yes, I absolutely had a good time last night," she answered, "But I got tired earlier than usual, so I asked Jonathan to accompany me back to the temple."

"Why did you want Jonathan with you?" Impa inquired, a slight edge in her voice which Zelda detected.

"You expect me to return to the temple alone?" Zelda asked in a mocking tone, "I could have been kidnaped by some of Ganondorf's goons or worse. I needed him for protection."

Impa then moved her hand to the back of Zelda's head. "You know you have ways of protecting yourself, Zelda," Impa pointed out, "You didn't need his help." Jonathan took slight offense to this statement.

"Impa, what does it matter to you that I had Jonathan accompany me back to the Forest Temple last night?" Zelda asked as she sat up, now looking at Impa indignantly.

This motion took Impa by surprise. _She's hiding something from me,_ she realized. Zelda realized she sent Impa this message as well, and mentally noted to control her emotions in the future.

"I just want to make sure that he is not abusing your father's generous hospitality, that's all," Impa explained. These words made Jonathan feel especially guilty about his actions during the night.

Zelda shook her head in response to this. "Impa, Jonathan would never do something like that," she corrected, "He's a better person than you give him credit for." Now Zelda's frustration with Impa that had been building over the past few years finally boiled over. "Impa, you know I'm an adult now," she said indignantly, "Why do you persist in treating me like a child?"

That comment caused the normally stoic Impa to actually shed tears. After a few moments, she gently lifted Zelda into her embrace. "Zelda, I have had so many things and people I loved taken away from me in my life," she explained, "First, my mother died giving birth to Eleza, and then all my friends were taken from me during that terrible war. Lenif was like a brother to me, and then Agahnim . . . well, we all thought he was invincible. His disappearance was a terrible loss to me. And then I lost my sister to Ganondorf. Zelda, you're the only thing I have left."

"Impa, you won't lose me," Zelda assured, starting to cry herself, "Don't worry about me."

"You know I can't do that," Impa pointed out as she let go of Zelda, "With the final strike against Ganondorf being at hand at last, you know that this will be a very dangerous time for us all."

Zelda nodded. "Speaking of which, I believe we should strike tonight," she remarked, "Ganondorf will not be expecting such an action so soon after the festival."

Impa nodded. "Yes, I agree," she replied, "But unless you have a good plan, your father will not let Jonathan just go out on a suicide mission. By the way, do you know where Jonathan is?"

Zelda thought for a moment. "Have you tried his room?" she inquired.

"Yes, and he wasn't there," Impa answered.

Zelda shrugged. "All I know is that he went to his room and I went to mine when we returned last night," Zelda lied, "So I have no idea where he might be, but I would guess he'd preferred not to be disturbed right now. He must understand what is coming for him now."

Impa nodded as she stood up and walked back toward the door of the room. "Well, I'll go looking for him again," she said as she opened the door and started to leave, "You might want to get up soon."

Zelda nodded as Impa closed the door behind her. Zelda waited 20 seconds before saying, "I think it's safe for you to come out now, Jonathan."

Jonathan crawled out on the far side of the bed and kneeled next to it, hiding most of his body from Zelda's view. His concerned expression made Zelda nervous. "Zelda, I need to leave this room now," he quickly claimed as he started to dress himself.

"Why?" she asked, confused as to why he would say something like that.

"You heard Impa," he claimed as he finished putting his underwear on.

Zelda suddenly giggled. "Don't mind what Impa says, Jonathan," she said, "You're not taking advantage of me or anyone else here."

"How can you say that?" Jonathan asked Zelda, looking her in the eyes.

"Easy," Zelda replied, "Jonathan, do you love me?"

"Of course I love you Zelda," Jonathan answered truthfully, "I love you more than anything else I can possibly think of, in Hyrule or on Earth."

Zelda smiled, for she knew that Jonathan was telling her the truth. "And I love you, Jonathan," she continued, "And really, that's all that matters between us."

Jonathan wanted to disagree with what she had just said, but he realized that it really was that simple. "What I mean is that it isn't that simple to someone else, like Impa or your father," Jonathan explained, "We know I'm not doing that, but they'll think I'm taking advantage of you."

Zelda shook her head and smiled. "Jonathan, I think you forget how forceful a person I really am," she said as he reached out and grabbed his wrists firmly, then pulled him down onto the bed and on top of her, "Don't worry about anyone else."

At first Jonathan tried to resist this advance, but he soon allowed his passion to take over again. And, of course, Zelda was right. She was a forceful person, which she was about to prove to Jonathan.

-----------

Impa would continue searching for Jonathan for the next few hours around the Forest Temple. It was an hour past midday when Impa finally found him about to enter his courtyard. He was wearing one of his usual green tunics, but the skin on his arms and legs was visible. He also wasn't wearing the hat that went along with the tunic, but Jonathan had ceased to wear that months ago. He complained that it did nothing for him and always kept falling off with his various aerobatic antics.

"Jonathan, where have you been?" Impa called as she hurried over to the young man.

"I was taking a swim in Lake Hylia, that's all," Jonathan replied as he looked back at Impa, "Is there some reason why I shouldn't do that?"

"No, but you should have said something to me," Impa explained.

"You weren't around when I left," Jonathan responded, "Sorry I should have waited."

Jonathan opened the door and entered his courtyard, Impa still right behind him. Jonathan was getting a little concerned right now, but feigned annoyance. "Impa, is there something you need to tell me?" he asked with a bit of hostility in his voice, which he immediately wished he could take back.

"You'll probably be going after Ganondorf tonight," Impa informed, "We'll be starting a meeting with the king shortly to go over a plan of action."

"About damn time," Jonathan commented as he turned and faced Impa, "The sooner we get rid of that abomination, the sooner we can go back to our normal lives."

Impa narrowed her eyes a bit and stared at Jonathan, trying to make him uncomfortable about something. "Aren't you afraid you may die at his hands?" Impa inquired.

_Now there's a strange question to ask at this point,_ Jonathan thought, _I guess Zelda didn't completely convince her._

Jonathan shook his head slowly. "Not really, since with Link's help, I'm not going to die," he explained with arrogant confidence in his voice.

Impa smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "Jonathan, that kind of attitude will get you in trouble," she reminded him, "You're not invincible, even with the power of the Triforce and the Hero of Time."

"Impa, what difference does it make if I'm afraid or not?" Jonathan asked of his trainer, "I'm going to have to try to defeat Ganondorf whether I'm afraid or not. Besides, why should I fear Ganondorf? He's not invincible either, and I will have Link to help me out if I need him."

Impa nodded in agreement. "Still, fighting Ganondorf will put all your battle skills and instincts to the ultimate test. I hope you are ready for that."

"I am ready," Jonathan replied confidently, "As long as you taught me well."

Impa stared at Jonathan again for a long moment before saying, "In that case, follow me." With that, she led Jonathan back into the Main Atrium and took the lift down into the basement of the Forest Temple. Then, they walked into the royal chamber.

As Jonathan walked onto the platform in the middle of the chamber, he found Sheik down on one knee in the middle of the platform, his head bowed toward King Alazon. He was wearing the same kind of clothing that Jonathan had first seen him wearing. Also present at this meeting was General Attula. However, Jonathan noticed that Zelda was absent. Shrugging, Jonathan took his seat on the platform as Impa took hers as well.

"Are we ready to begin?" Alazon inquired.

"I believe so," Impa replied for herself and Jonathan.

"Right then, lets begin," the king responded, "General Attula, give us an overview of the situation."

"Yes Your Majesty," Attula said as he stood up and began pacing about the platform, "You see, we are ready to strike back against Ganondorf now. We have the spirit of the Hero of Time and the completed Light Power, both of which can be used by Jonathan here. The only thing that remains is to face Ganondorf himself.

"The main problem we have is that there's no way we can lure him out into the open at this point. He knows that we have the means to defeat him and will force us to come to him if we want to defeat him. And that will mean sneaking past the security not just around Hyrule Castle, but the security in place in Hyrule Castle Town as well. However, we have been monitoring this situation for some time and we believe that now is the time to strike. I will let Sheik here explain what's going on."

With that, Attula sat down in his seat as Sheik stood up straight.

"To make a long story short," he began, not looking away from the king, "The security around Hyrule Castle Town and the castle itself is as low as it's ever going to get. Ganondorf simply isn't expecting us to act just yet. He doesn't know that Jonathan can actually use the Light Power yet.

"Here is my plan: tonight, Jonathan and I will be in position near the wall surrounding the town. Once Jonathan neutralizes the guards on the top of the wall with his bow, we will climb over the wall and enter Hyrule Castle Town. Using stealth, we will make our way to the pathway to Hyrule Castle and work our way across the castle grounds until we reach the moat near the castle itself. There is a hidden crawlspace in the castle that we will crawl through to enter the castle itself. Once inside, Jonathan and I will sneak our way through until we reach the garden area adjacent to the Royal Chamber of Hyrule Castle, where Ganondorf will almost certainly be. Once we get inside the Royal Chamber, Ganondorf will be destroyed and his forces will scatter, allowing us to control the land of Hyrule once again. Our victory will be signaled to you, Your Majesty, with the dropping of the drawbridge before dawn. If the drawbridge drops at dawn, as it usually does, the signal will be a single white ribbon hanging over the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town. In either case, once you see the signal, have your forces move in and take control of the town, the castle, and the Kingdom of Hyrule once again."

"You have omitted quite a few details with your plan, Sheik," King Alazon commented, "For example, how will you sneak through Hyrule Castle Town without being seen?"

"Through the back alleys in the town," Sheik explained, "I know them like the back of my hand and they should keep us out of sight."

"Jonathan, do you believe you can see well enough in the night to use your bow?" Attula asked Jonathan.

"I'm not sure, but I'll try," Jonathan answered.

"A full moon will be out tonight, so that should aid your eyes," Sheik informed Jonathan.

"What about Orizon?" Jonathan inquired, "What if he gets involved in this?"

"If he does, he'll be helping your efforts," Alazon answered simply, "Don't worry about Orizon too much."

"Sheik, is it really necessary for you to go with Jonathan?" Impa asked with a great deal of concern.

Something suddenly made Jonathan confused. Earlier, when he was hiding under Zelda's bed, he had heard Impa's emotional outpouring. In it, she had never even mentioned Sheik. _Did they have a falling out or something?_ Jonathan asked himself, _I find it hard to believe that she'd forget about her own son._ However, Jonathan realized that he couldn't ask about that unless he wanted Impa to kill him on the spot.

"I have to lead Jonathan through this operation, Impa," Sheik replied, "He will need my help to reach Ganondorf."

"I suppose you're right," Impa admitted reluctantly. Jonathan noted that Impa seemed to care about Sheik's well-being enough at this time.

"Most of the plan will be made up as we go along, simply because there are too many things that may change at any time, but I'm certain that Jonathan and I will encounter no problems until we reach Ganondorf himself," Sheik began to finish, "From that point forward, it will be rough."

"Nothing Link and I won't be able to handle," Jonathan assured, "But what about all of Ganondorf's troops once he sees us? How will we deal with them?"

"Just kill Ganondorf quickly and we won't have to worry about that," Sheik answered, "Once Ganondorf is gone, his forces will scatter and will be dealt with easily by the returning forces of King Alazon."

"Jonathan, are you willing to go on this last mission for us?" Alazon asked.

Jonathan chuckled. "You ask me as if I have a choice in the matter," he commented, "When we both know perfectly well that I don't have that choice. But if I did have the choice, I'd choose to kill Ganondorf. He doesn't scare me."

Alazon smiled at Jonathan's confidence. He then looked at Sheik. "Sheik, are you willing to go on this mission?" he asked.

"Yes Your Majesty," Sheik replied simply.

"Then this meeting is over," Alazon concluded as he began to stand up from his throne, "May the Goddesses watch over you with favor."

And with that, Jonathan stood up and walked off the platform and down the staircase around the platform, with Sheik following him. As the two young men walked through the door leading back to the lift, Sheik decided to break the silence between the two.

"Jonathan, you seem much more confident and cocky than usual," he commented, "Why is that?"

Jonathan smirked when he heard this comment. It wasn't the first time that he had heard this from someone. Jonathan noticed that every time he had sex with a girl, for a good amount of time afterwards, his personality would change from his normal quiet, withdrawn self into a confident (some would say cocky) and outspoken person. Jonathan attributed this to an alter ego of sorts.

"I can't tell you why," Jonathan replied as he walked into the lift, waiting for Sheik to come in as well, "For various reasons."

Sheik gave Jonathan a look of confusion. "Does it involve Princess Zelda?" he asked.

Jonathan activated the lift, causing it to rise through the shaft up to the Main Atrium. He had to think about how to reply to that question. He was sure if he told Sheik what happened last night, he would tell Impa. Although by now Jonathan knew Impa had strong suspicions against him, she needed solid proof before she'd do anything drastic against him. And he wasn't going to sign his own death certificate.

"Why would you think that?" Jonathan inquired.

"I won't tell Impa anything about it," Sheik assured, almost as if reading Jonathan's previous thought.

Jonathan decided to try to divert Sheik's attention at this point. "You aren't all that close with your mother, it seems," Jonathan remarked, "Did the two of you have a falling out or something?"

Sheik hesitated before answering, as if trying to find a way to say something that's simple to envision in the mind, but difficult to put into words. "I suppose it's just that I don't have a close relationship with anyone," he finally answered slowly, "No one is really all that close to me. I guess you could say that I'm the kind of person who doesn't have emotions."

Jonathan understood what Sheik meant by that, although he had never before knew someone like that in real life. "It must be hard for Impa to deal with you at times," he said.

"So, does it involve Princess Zelda?" Sheik asked again.

Jonathan paused before answering. "Yes, it does," he confirmed, "But that's all I'm going to say. Take what you will from that."

Sheik nodded as the lift reached the Main Atrium. "I'll be waiting for you in front of the Forest Temple at sunset," he said as he walked toward the entrance of the Forest Temple, "Make sure you have the proper equipment for this mission."

"Alright, I will," Jonathan replied as he walked into his courtyard, climbed up the ladder, and entered his room, where he began going over the plan.

"Alright, first of all, I'm going to need my bow and arrows for stealth," he remarked to himself as he grabbed the unstrung bow off the wall, along with a quiver of metal-tipped arrows, and laid both items down on the bed. He repeated this process for all the equipment he would need, which included the Longshot (for scaling the wall surrounding Hyrule Castle Town), the Mirror Shield and the sword that Alazon gave to him. Finally came the Master Sword.

"Jonathan, you seem different now," Link commented almost as soon as Jonathan took hold of the Master Sword, "Did something happen last night?"

"That's a bit of an understatement, Link," Jonathan replied to the spirit in the blade, "Zelda and I had a great time last night."

Link was caught by surprise with that comment. He knew that Zelda and Jonathan had a romantic relationship developing between them, but he didn't realize just how quickly it progressed. "I see," he mustered in response, trying to seem detached from the situation.

However, the act didn't fool Jonathan for a moment. "Is something wrong Link?" he inquired, "I didn't force Zelda to do anything against her will."

"No, I know you'd never hurt Zelda," Link assured, "It's just that . . . "

"You're jealous of me, aren't you?" Jonathan realized.

Link hesitated before nodding his head. "Yeah, a little bit," he replied reluctantly, "But it's nothing to concern yourself over."

But Jonathan was more amazed than concerned about Link at this point. Up until now, Jonathan saw Link as simply a spirit of pure good. But now he saw that Link actually was human, with all the negative emotions as well as the positive ones.

"Link, we'll be taking Ganondorf down tonight," Jonathan finally informed Link after a few seconds, "I'm going to need your help."

"Of course," Link replied.

An awkward silence followed as Jonathan attached the Master Sword to his right hip. He then picked up his other sword and attached it to his other hip. He then equipped the rest of the items on his bed. However, his arrogant alter ego had been sidelined by the revelation that Link was, in fact, human. That he was jealous of Jonathan's activities with Zelda frightened him. He knew just what Link was capable of doing. And he had heard stories back on Earth about what jealously could make humans do to each other.

_Jonathan, stop thinking like this,_ Jonathan finally forced some reason into his mind, _Link can't even do anything without you, so stop worrying about this. You should be worrying more about Ganondorf than Link right now, anyway._

Jonathan picked up the Longshot and examined it, firing it off and reeling it in to make sure it was in proper working order. Suddenly, he realized that this wasn't going to work as it was. _That wall is nothing but stone,_ he thought, _This projectile won't be able to pierce it._ Carrying the Longshot with him, Jonathan left his room and found Impa entering his courtyard. Suddenly, Jonathan wanted to disappear from sight. He was certain that Sheik has spilled the beans on his relationship with Zelda.

"Jonathan, I was about to look for you," Impa stated, "Is there anything you need for the operation that you don't have right now?"

Suddenly, he was able to breathe again. _Sheik kept his word,_ he realized.

"Um, yes, do you have a metal hook for this Longshot?" Jonathan asked as he showed Impa the device, "I don't think the spike will pierce the stone wall surrounding Hyrule Castle Town."

Impa nodded. "I have such a device," Impa replied as she began to walk away.

Jonathan looked down at his clothing and thought of something else. "Oh, and Impa?" he called out.

"Yes?" his teacher inquired.

"I'm going to need a set of black clothes as well," Jonathan said, "I'll need to be covered from head to toe in black."

Impa nodded. "That's a good idea," she commented as she left the courtyard. She returned about five minutes later with a black bodysuit and a grapple hook with three prongs on it.

"That's perfect," Jonathan said as he walked over to the ladder and slid down the rungs. He extended the chain of the Longshot by about a foot and carefully opened up a gap in the last link of chain that connected the spike on the end to the Longshot chain. Once he had opened up enough of a gap, he slipped the spike off the chain and then took the hook from Impa and put that in its place, closing the gap in the link of chain before twisting the Longshot handle. This caused the chain to retract into the Longshot chamber again, leaving the three hooks of the grapple hook on the outside, reaching around the cylinder which held the chain.

"Perfect," Jonathan commented.

"I think this should fit on you nicely, although it may be a big snug," Impa said as she handed over the black bodysuit, "Anything else you may need?"

Jonathan thought for a moment as he looked at the black piece of clothing. He noticed that his hands and face would still be visible. He would need some more camouflage. "Yeah, got any black paint that you can apply to the skin?" Jonathan asked.

Impa nodded. "Why don't you try that on while I go fetch that?" she suggested as she left the courtyard.

Once Impa had left, Jonathan took off his boots and tunic and then pulled the black bodysuit on, unzipping the back and stepping into the legs of the stealth clothing. After he finished getting into the garment, he zipped up the back again. The bodysuit was a bit tight around his crotch, but other than that, it was a good fit. As he put his boots back on, Impa returned, carrying a glass bottle filled with a black substance.

"Now Jonathan, even if you turn yourself completely black, that is no guarantee of avoiding detection at night," Impa reminded her pupil as she started applying the black paint to his hands, "You have to remember to become one with the night. Remember that the eye at night detects movement long before it can determine shape, so when in doubt, stay still in the shadows if you can. Try to avoid contact with the enemy as much as you can. If you have to take out the enemy, try to make sure that no one else notices what's going on and be as silent as you can. And when all else fails, just listen to Sheik; he'll know what to do."

Jonathan nodded as Impa quickly finished her work on his hands, then began to work on covering Jonathan's face. "Keep your eyes closed until I say otherwise," she ordered.

Jonathan shut his eyes and simply waited as he felt Impa roughly and quickly rub the black paint all over his face, taking a bit more time with the eyelids. After about two minutes, he finally heard Impa's voice return as her hand left his face.

"Alright, look at yourself and tell me what you think," she said.

Jonathan opened his eyes and walked over to the stream in the courtyard. He then crouched and gazed down into the gently flowing waters, which reflected his image back to him. When he saw his reflection, he couldn't help but chuckle slightly at himself. Through the use of the bodysuit and the skin paint, his body was now colored the darkest shade of black imaginable. He was now a true creature of the night, with the only hint of color being the brown irises of his eyes and the only hint of white being the whites that surrounded those brown orbs.

"I think this will work nicely," Jonathan commented as he turned back toward Impa.

Impa nodded in agreement. "Just remember not to get that paint wet. Otherwise, it will come off," she warned, "And remember that if you are careless, no amount of black will hide you in the night."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Thank you Impa, for training me," he said.

Impa walked up to Jonathan and laid her hand, still coated with some black paint, on Jonathan's shoulder and rested it there lightly for a moment. "No Jonathan, I am the one who should be thankful to you," she explained, "We took you from your world into this situation with no warning whatsoever to fight against lethal opponents. Considering the circumstances, you have shown us all amazing loyalty and courage. Thank you."

_Well, it wasn't as if I had no warning at all,_ Jonathan thought to himself, _I did have those dreams of Zelda before I came here. And if I never were brought here, I would never have met my true love._

Impa took her hand off Jonathan's shoulder. "Be outside the entrance of the Forest Temple at sunset," she ordered, "Sheik will be waiting there to begin this mission."

Jonathan nodded as Impa left the courtyard. He looked up and saw that the sun was still a few hours away from the horizon. He sat down and began to contemplate all that had happened in the past few months to him. And although he made a concerted effort to try to convince himself otherwise, he quickly came to one definite conclusion.

_This is my home now,_ he decided, _I will remain here in Hyrule for the rest of my life._ Although he couldn't know it now, he would have to break that vow in the future.

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Author's Notes: So there you have it. The final showdowns are coming up soon.

Four chapters to go.

New chapter next Friday. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.


	30. Chapter 29: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to everyone who read my story in the past week. And a special thanks to those who reviewed.

SPark681: Oh, that's a reference to the third part of the trilogy, Hero of Worlds. Don't worry much about that for now. Thanks for the support and review #75.

cktedmon: Well, it's only natural to feel some kind of jealousy in that sort of situation, you know? I'm not a fan of purely evil villains, and I'm no fan of purely good heroes. I wouldn't call Link's feelings "petty." Yes, Zelda has grown up, as all people tend to do. And Jonathan may be stupid, but he's not an idiot. Why would Ganondorf accept such a challenge? Thanks for the support.

And we have passed 3,500 hits! Way to go everyone!

This chapter contains a rather dark scene near the end, so be prepared for that.

And now, time to finish this.

**Chapter 29: The Ultimate Sacrifice**

It had been an hour since the sun had gone down and the full moon had risen over Hyrule Field. An imp stood atop the wall surrounding Hyrule Castle Town, keeping watch for any signs of trouble from the outside. His horn hung around his neck by a string, ready for blowing at the fight sign of trouble, which would unleash Ganondorf's forces upon the poor soul that tried to defy his will. His eyes scanned all around, but he saw nothing unusual. In fact, the first sign of trouble he'd register on this night was his instant death.

He felt nothing as the metal tip and shaft of a special arrow pierced his leather helmet and went right through his head, blood and small pieces of brain splattering out on the other side where the arrow exited his skull. The arrow would have gone clear through his head had it not been for the feathers on the arrow that guided its lethal flight. The imp never felt a thing as he collapsed onto his chest, dead before he had even hit the ground. None of the other guards noticed anything; it was a perfectly stealthy kill.

Getting up from his prone position, Jonathan ran in a crouched stance as quickly as he could the 150 meters to the moat surrounding the wall. He placed his bow on the ground as he took the longshot out of his pack and fired it up to the top of the wall. Once the chain had been completely discharged, he moved to the left and began to wind the chain in until he felt the hook catch hold of the rampart wall. He tested the grip of the hook, and was satisfied with his work.

"Ready to go," he whispered to Sheik, who had rushed to the wall the same way Jonathan had.

Sheik nodded as Jonathan got down on his knees and held the grapple chamber as strongly as he could. Sheik then got on the top of the chain and began to quickly shimmy his way up to the wall, grabbing the ramparts and pulling himself up when he could. Jonathan then stood up, grabbed his bow in his left hand, and slowly twisted the grapple chamber counterclockwise with his right hand until the chain began to be reeled in slowly. He repelled his way up the stone wall and joined Sheik in having a look at his handiwork.

"Nice shot," Sheik commented.

Jonathan nodded in agreement as he put his longshot away and gripped his bow properly again. "Come on, no time for admiring an unfinished job," he reminded.

Sheik agreed and would lead the way from here on out, jumping down from the wall and onto the road below. Jonathan followed suit, taking another arrow out of his quiver and stringing it in his bow, just in case another imp got in their way.

Slowly and carefully, the two stealthy warriors moved forward until the central square of the town was in sight in the moonlight. At this, Sheik turned around and said, "We can't enter the town center, or else we'll be spotted for sure. Follow me into the back alleys."

Jonathan nodded as he followed Sheik down a narrow side street, lights from the windows of houses beaming out and revealing the two young men for a few brief moments as they moved on, headed toward the evil that had taken residence in Hyrule Castle.

Finally, after following Sheik for about 15 minutes through these streets, Jonathan caught sight of what they had been looking for. A wooden ladder against the side of a house, which would allow the two to gain access to the rooftops of the town. This would give them an unobstructed path to the castle until they reached the castle grounds themselves. Sheik began walking toward the ladder, which was on the opposite side of the road from him, when Jonathan saw the shadow of an approaching imp from the end of the alleyway.

"Sheik! Wait!" Jonathan whispered sharply as he drew his bowstring tight, aiming for the approaching shadow as he pushed his right side against the wall of a house, trying to hide himself in darkness. Sheik did the same as Jonathan, checking his head to make sure his blonde hair was still covered by his black hood.

Jonathan finally caught sight of the imp as it walked into view, drenched in the light of the torch it was holding in front of it. Jonathan kept his bow ready, aiming for the top of the imp's head, knowing that the arrow would fall far enough over the space separating himself from the imp to go right through its head, causing an instantly fatal blow. However, he couldn't fire yet, not while other imps could see it go down. _If it walks farther down this alley, I shoot,_ he decided, hoping that he would not need to kill this imp.

"Eh, must have been another one of those dogs," the imp commented, annoyance clearly perceivable in its cold voice, as he turned around and walked back toward the town center.

Jonathan slowly lowered his bow and let the string relax as Sheik hurried over to the ladder and climbed it. Jonathan followed suit and the two carefully moved their way north toward Hyrule Castle, avoiding the gaze of the guards as they moved along.

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Ganondorf sat in the throne room of Hyrule Castle, now knowing that the final moves in the chess game between himself and Alazon were soon to be played. Jonathan would soon come to destroy him. However, he had no idea when. And Orizon could give him no useful information on that end, either.

"Orizon's recent behavior concerns me," Ganondorf said out loud to himself, "I think he may actually be aiding Jonathan and Alazon more than me. I'll have to find a way to get rid of him, as he has now become more of a nuisance then someone who will actually help me."

However, Ganondorf would not have the chance to carry out his death sentence on his former mentor.

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Sheik and Jonathan were prone on the grassy meadow in front of Hyrule Castle as they slowly crawled across an unwatched swath of ground, Sheik leading the way. Quietly, Jonathan followed Sheik as over the next 30 minutes they snuck their way across the meadow up to a wall that separated the meadow from the moat around Hyrule Castle itself. Again, none of Ganondorf's guards had seen them.

"Now we climb up this wall," Sheik informed as he grabbed one of the rocky outcroppings on the wall and silently climbed the ten feet until he was on top while Jonathan kept watch at the bottom with his bow and gaze moving in unison back and forth across the meadow. Once Sheik had finished climbing, Jonathan turned around and climbed up to Sheik in a similar fashion.

"Go through the moat water to avoid making so much noise," Sheik informed as he quietly dropped down next to the moat and then dropped himself into the water. Jonathan watched as he submerged himself and began swimming underwater toward the other end of the moat.

_I could do that,_ Jonathan thought as he dropped down onto the concrete surrounding the moat, _But I don't want to lose my paint. Not yet, anyway._ So Jonathan placed his left hand on the edge of the concrete that formed the channel of the moat as he lowered himself slowly into the water while his right hand reached onto his back and drew his sword in case one of the guards nearby noticed something as he slowly moved down the channel. Once he got by the pair of guards in front of the main gate of the castle, he sheathed his sword and used both hands to move himself down the channel more quickly. He soon caught up to Sheik, who was standing across from a rectangular hole in the side of the castle.

"We'll have to jump to that opening and crawl through it," Sheik explained as Jonathan pulled himself out of the moat, "There will probably be guards on patrol inside, but once we reach the garden at the end of the corridor, Ganondorf will be just one room away."

"Should I go first?" Jonathan asked.

Sheik nodded. "It might be a good idea to kill any guards you come across from here on out," he suggested, "Just make sure they don't get an alarm off."

Jonathan nodded as he got into position and jumped over the moat, catching hold of the opening in the wall. It was a bit cramped in the crawlspace, but Jonathan managed to make it into the castle. He saw an imp with a lantern beginning to turn away from him as Jonathan began to exit the crawl space. Without making a sound, Jonathan snuck up behind the imp and grabbed his head, covered his mouth, and then quickly twisted his head around, causing the foul creature's neck to snap, killing it. After dropping the creature's body, Jonathan picked up the lantern it had held and put it against the wall near a hedge, blocking its light from going down the corridor.

Jonathan continued on down the corridor like this, taking out two more imps along the way, with Sheik following his trail of death. There was something about this that thrilled Jonathan. The excitement of the hunt. His darker self was starting to take control, which was fully apparent to Sheik when he saw that Jonathan let the final imp have a look at his face before killing him.

"Jonathan, stop that," Sheik chastised as he reached Jonathan's position, "We're here to destroy Ganondorf, not to kill for fun."

"Hey, you told me I should kill them," Jonathan pointed out as they continued to press forward.

"I didn't know you would take such pleasure from doing so," Sheik explained.

"I get pleasure from knowing that we are saving the Kingdom of Hyrule from Ganondorf's clutches," Jonathan lied in explanation.

"Whatever," Sheik replied as the garden at the end of the corridor finally came into view. Suddenly, the hair on the back of Jonathan's neck tried to stand on end, only to be stopped by the bodysuit. As a tingling feeling ran through his body, Jonathan knew the end of this adventure was at hand.

"He's near," Jonathan said as he ran over to the window at the other end of garden, "He must be on the other side of this window."

Sheik nodded as he reached Jonathan. "Then Ganondorf knows that you are near as well," he reminded, "There will be no element of surprise here."

Jonathan looked up and found a metal bar that was attached to the wall above the window. He jumped up and grabbed the bar with both hands. "Fine by me. I'll fight Ganondorf," he said as he looked back down at Sheik as he rested his feet on the bottom of the opening for the window, "You make sure none of his guards come in and disturb me."

"Absolutely," Sheik replied.

With that done, Jonathan pushed his legs straight and then brought his feet up so that his boots swung right through the center of the window, shattering it on impact as Jonathan let go of the bar and dropped on his feet in the middle of a well-decorated corridor. He looked to his right and saw the dark figure of Ganondorf, lit by the mounted torches along both walls that draped the corridor in orange.

"Jonathan, we meet again," Ganondorf greeted, raising his black blade into the air.

"For the last time," Jonathan replied as he reached his left hand up to his right shoulder and grabbed the Master Sword.

"Link, it's all yours," Jonathan told the Hero of Time.

Bolts of electricity coursed through and over Jonathan's body as he drew out the Master Sword. And by the time the sword was clear of its sheathe, Link stood before Ganondorf, the black paint now gone from his hands and face and his black hair changed to blonde. Sheik performed a somersault as he jumped through the window and ran down to the other end of the corridor as Link reached back and grabbed the Mirror Shield off of his back. He was ready to defeat Ganondorf.

"So you finally came," Ganondorf commented with his dark voice, "Come Link, let us finish this."

"For once, we agree," Link replied as he and Ganondorf rushed at each other and began trading blows, with Ganondorf using his black blade as both sword and shield. Sheik saw none of it, as he kept watch over the Throne Room door for Ganondorf's troops.

For 20 long minutes, the two warriors swung blow after lethal blow, neither one able to gain any ground on the other. Link's shield provided a formidable defense against Ganondorf, but Link could not get around Ganondorf's defenses either. It appeared that this would quickly become a war of attrition, with the first to run out of energy to become the loser of the battle. And Ganondorf knew that such a fight would favor the youthful over the aged. Link would win this battle, no matter how long it took.

_I need to find something to distract him,_ Ganondorf thought to himself, _Or else I'll be worn down in time._ He jumped back and aimed his black blade down the center of the corridor, where Link was standing. Instantly, a black sphere shot out from the tip and flew right at Link. He rolled out of the way of the blast and began to run at Ganondorf after he got back on his feet again when he heard a male voice grunt in pain from behind him.

_No!_ Link thought as he looked back and saw Sheik fall onto his chest. The death blast that he had eluded had hit Sheik square in the back with no warning at all.

"Link! Sheik's been hit!" Jonathan exclaimed, "We have to help him!"

"There's no hope for him!" Link shouted back, desperately trying to keep Jonathan from the truth which he was still completely unaware of, "We have to finish Ganondorf!"

Right on cue, Ganondorf tried to cut down the distracted Link, but found his killer blow blocked by his shield. And then, in a surge of rage and anger, Link drove the Master Sword into Ganondorf's torso like a dagger.

"ARGH!" Ganondorf groaned loudly as he slumped forward onto his knees, clutching his chest in pain as Link stood over his wounded body.

"It's over Ganondorf," Link declared as he lifted the Master Sword for the final blow, "Your evil stops here."

But before that blow could be delivered, Link and Jonathan heard a most familiar, feminine voice speak quietly from the other end of the hall.

"Jonathan," was what the voice said.

Link quickly glanced toward the voice, then immediately wished he hadn't. Now Jonathan's worst fears had been confirmed.

"ZELDA! NO!" Jonathan yelled as he took control of his body back from Link. He then ran toward the princess, dropping the Master Sword along the way. As it clattered on the ground, Jonathan crouched down next to Zelda's prone figure.

"Jonathan, I'm sorry you had to learn the truth about Sheik like this," Zelda apologized.

"Don't speak, Zelda," Jonathan commanded as he turned her body over, looking for a wound of some kind to heal, "I'm going to help you, just hang in there."

"Jonathan," Zelda said as sternly as she could, forcing him to look into her purple eyes, "You can't help me now. You must stop Ganondorf. You must kill him. You must save Hyrule."

"Zelda, I can't just abandon you like this," Jonathan protested, his feelings getting in the way of what he knew had to be done, "I love you, and I won't leave your side until you're safe. I must protect you from harm."

"We'll see each other sooner than you think, Jonathan," Zelda promised, the volume of her voice fading with each passing moment, "But you must kill Ganondorf."

Jonathan, now knowing what was about to happen, reached behind Zelda's head with his left hand and brought her head up to meet his in one last passionate kiss. Jonathan hoped that somehow, someway, like Prince Charming, he could bring his beloved back to life with a kiss.

But he wasn't Prince Charming, and this was no fairy tale. As the first few seconds passed, he felt Zelda's body go limp as she stopped breathing. "No," Jonathan said, trying to deny the truth of what he had just felt, of what he had just seen. But after a moment, he could deny it no longer.

"ZELDAAAAAAA!" Jonathan exclaimed as he craned his head toward the sky, almost as if begging the powers at be to reverse the cutting of thread that they had just performed.

Jonathan lowered his head back down to look at Zelda's face again, but her eyes were now closed, never to open again. Jonathan brought her close in another embrace as he began to cry as he had never cried before. The only thing that ran through his mind was that the woman he loved more than anything else was now dead. He would never feel the warmth of her body or her love again. Her twenty-one years of life had been ended all too soon. And all because . . .

Jonathan looked up toward the other end of the Throne Room and found that Ganondorf had disappeared, but a trail of blood marked his path into a passage on the right side of the throne. Jonathan stood up, his eyes filled with the look of the one thought that filled his mind: revenge. He would kill Ganondorf, not for Hyrule, but for himself. He would kill Ganondorf to satisfy his lust for justice. He pulled his bow off his back and strung a metal arrow into the bow as he walked toward the passage marked by a blood trail.

He didn't have to go far. Ganondorf hadn't gotten very far down the corridor when he had to prop himself up against the wall, trying to stop the bleeding. He heard the coming steps and looked back the way he had come and saw Jonathan drawing the arrow in his bow back and aim at Ganondorf. Suddenly, a golden glow surrounded the arrow as Jonathan spoke his final words to the evil king. And he decided, for the first time in his life, to use Hylian himself.

"Ganondorf," Jonathan spoke tersely in Hylian, "I kill."

And with that, he let fly the golden arrow. It pierced through Ganondorf's dark heart instantly. The dark king gave one last groan of pain, and then collapsed onto his left side. Jonathan didn't even bother to check the body for death; he simply turned around and left it to rot there.

As he entered the Throne Room once again, he began to cry once again as he rested his forehead on the royal throne. _I can't go back,_ he thought, _Impa would never forgive me, and Alazon would disown me. I was supposed to protect Princess Zelda, and I failed._ He then ran through his other options, and one that at almost any other time would be too disturbing to consider at all became the most rational of all. He reached up to his left shoulder with his right hand and slowly pulled out his sword and gazed at the blade for what was the longest minute in Jonathan's life. Half of him couldn't believe what he was seriously considering, while the other half was totally accepting of it.

Suicide.

_Why not?_ Jonathan realized, _I can't bear to live without Zelda, anyway. If I keep on living, her memory will haunt me to the grave. I'd rather be dead than live that way._ And then something Zelda had told him as she lay dying came back to his mind. _"We'll see each other sooner than you think, Jonathan." Perhaps she meant that I would follow her in death._

Jonathan ignored all the questions that this path demanded be asked. For this was neither the right nor wrong thing to do now. Simply put, this was his only choice. He would follow his beloved in death. Now, something that seemed so strange to him at one time made perfect sense.

"Zelda," he declared as he turned toward her body, "I shall not let you go on alone. I shall join you on the journey."

But then he looked at where the body was . . . or rather, where the body should have been. Now there was nothing there. No body, no hair, no clothes, not a thing.

Puzzled, Jonathan sheathed his sword and walked down the Royal Chamber, picking up the Master Sword along the way.

"Link, she's gone," he said, "Her body vanished."

"Someone or something must have taken it," Link concluded.

At this suggestion, another surge of anger ran through Jonathan's mind. "Those heartless imps!" he shouted, "I'll kill them all!"

He then ran toward the open entrance to the Royal Chamber when Jonathan caught sight of a piece of white paper on the ground with Hylian writing on it. Picking it up, Jonathan found most of the note to be unintelligible to his gaze. However, he saw six figures at the end of the message, the first three of which went "ORI."

"Orizon?" Jonathan asked, now very confused, "But why would he want Zelda's body?"

_He doesn't know about that, either,_ Link suddenly realized.

In his mind, Jonathan turned slowly toward Link, a look of extreme distrust in his gaze. "Link, what other important pieces of information have you been hiding from me?" he asked.

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Author's Notes: Link obviously has a lot of explaining to do. By the way, I do not endorse suicide, so please don't do that.

Three chapters to go.

Until next Friday, read, review, and enjoy.


	31. Chapter 30: The Greatest Evil Yet

Author's Notes: Once again, a big thanks to all those who read my story in the past week. And a special thanks to those who reviewed.

Infernal Flame Zero: Hey, not everything in life is about entertaining yourself, although it seems that is what our culture emphasizes so much now. Anyway, thanks for your support.

SPark681: Like I said, suicide is never the correct answer. However, Jonathan is a flawed character, and he got caught up in what was happening around him, how things had spiraled out of control. And I'm glad you've seen that my writing is progressing. This isn't my first fanfic ever, but it is the first one I've written in the novel format. Thanks for the support.

Cimar of Turalis: Was my story really that predictable? I have to work on not being so blunt. Thanks for the support.

The Silverdark Knight: Yeah, I figured that would push the envelope. Again, I don't support suicide in any way. But, again, Jonathan has so many things crashing down on him in that one moment that he feels that his whole world is collapsing around him as well. As for Jonathan not being on the ball on the Zelda-Sheik thing; the way Jonathan saw it, Sheik was not a puzzle to figure out, but just another person helping him to defeat his enemy. Besides, I don't think Jonathan would even want to consider the fact that the woman he loved was also a guy. That would kinda freak me out. Thanks for the support.

I think that this just might be the greatest boss battle scene I've ever written. Enjoy.

**Chapter 30: The Greatest Evil Yet**

Link hesitated momentarily, not knowing if he should reveal what he knew to Jonathan. _He is definitely not ready for this,_ he thought, _I can't tell him about this._

"Jonathan," Link began, "You are not ready to hear the information you want from me."

"Try me," Jonathan replied simply and strongly.

Link hesitated again. But before he could speak once more, a large rumbling was heard nearby. Jonathan could feel a shockwave pass right under his feet.

"It's an earthquake, Link!" Jonathan shouted as he looked around for the nearest piece of cover to get under.

"No, that's not an earthquake," Link replied calmly as he took control of Jonathan's body again, pulling the Mirror Shield off his back and preparing himself for battle again.

"Link, what's going on?" Jonathan asked.

Almost as if an answer to that question, a huge, green-skinned monster roared as it broke through the wall where the passage Ganondorf had died was. The monster pushed 40 feet tall and had gray "tusks" that wrapped around its ears. Its eyes glowed with an eerie white light, and the rest of the monster reminded Jonathan of a lizard. Except unlike most lizards Jonathan had seen in his life, this one held a dagger in each hand. Each one was longer than Jonathan himself was tall. The monster also had an uncanny resemblance to the evil king he had just done away with.

"Ganondorf?" Jonathan asked Link.

"No, Ganon," Link corrected, "His true form."

"Link, that thing looks really pissed," Jonathan commented, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I've defeated this demon before," Link assured as he pulled out his bow and loaded it with a metal arrow. Link imbued the arrow with the Light Power and a golden aura surrounded it as he aimed and fired the lethal shot at the evil demon's head.

However, Ganon had learned from his last encounter with the Hero of Time. Quickly, he moved his head out of the way of the arrow's path and then charged toward Link, attempting to impale him on his daggers. Link ran at Ganon as well, putting the bow back on his back, and sliding under the monster at the last moment as the daggers swiped at the space he had just been standing. As Link slid under Ganon, he took the Master Sword and swiped at his tail, making a penetration between a few of the scales there and slightly wounding the creature, although Link knew that such a large beast would take hundreds of such wounds to be incapacitated, while he was dead with one wrong move. _An inherently unfair fight,_ Link thought as he stood up to face Ganon as he turned around, _But one I've won before._ He knew all he had to do was wound Ganon with Light Arrows and he would weaken, but he seemed to be more wary of those this time around.

Link quickly pulled out his bow again and quickly fired another Light Arrow at Ganon's head, but he didn't have time to aim the shot properly and missed to his right. "Dammit!" he muttered as Ganon came running at him again, daggers ready to cut Link's body in two like a hot knife through butter. However, Link decided to use a different strategy to try to deal damage to the fiend this time. Instead of sliding under Ganon this time, he waited for the strike, which came with the dagger in the monster's right hand, a horizontal slash at Link's waist. At just the right moment, Link leapt straight up into the air and landed right on top of the broad side of the dagger, which was wide enough so that Link was able to stand atop it comfortably. Ganon responded to this by trying to slice Link in two by bringing his two blades together, with the left one slightly above the right one. Link knew this was coming, and so he simply did his leaping trick again and landed on the moving left-hand blade, which was now rising up to Ganon's right shoulder.

At the right moment, Link leapt from the blade and onto the back of Ganon's neck. And as he did so, he plunged the Master Sword into the monster's foul skin, causing him to shriek at not the pain of the sword piercing the skin itself, but the purifying properties of the Blade of Evil's Bane, which was designed to destroy creatures like Ganon from the inside-out. Link then removed the sword and plunged it into the neck again. He repeated this process three more times, his entire body burning with a righteous rage. Finally, Ganon reached up and knocked Link off of him, along with the Master Sword.

Link fell almost 40 feet down to the stone floor of the Throne Room, landing flat on his back. Although nothing was broken, it was definitely an experience he did not want to repeat again. His body hurt all over and the extra weight of his equipment didn't help soften his fall at all. However, he felt his legs were moving and knew that he would be fine, as long as Ganon wasn't already on top of him.

Link rolled backwards onto his feet, ready for combat again despite the fall he had suffered. He saw that Ganon had also recovered from any injury Link had inflicted on him just now and was about to rush right at Link again. Link replied by pulling out his bow and arming it with another arrow. The arrow glowed with a golden light as the monster began another charge at the Hero of Time. Link let the Light Arrow fly, but again, Ganon dodged it.

"Link, this isn't working," Jonathan pointed out, noticing that Link was losing much of his magical energy by this point, "He can see the arrows coming."

"He couldn't do that before," Link defended, "But what do you think needs to be done now, Jonathan?"

Jonathan took a moment to think about that. "Well, since he can see the arrows coming," he began to answer, "We have to blind him somehow. We have to put his eyes out."

Link dodged Ganon's dagger stabs as he avoided being trampled by the huge beast. "And just how do you propose doing that, Jonathan?" Link inquired, "He'll block regular arrows, trust me."

"Then we'll have to do this up close and personal," Jonathan replied with extreme prejudice, seemingly taking great pleasure in what he was imagining, "We'll have to get up to his eyes and stab them out."

"How can you still be suicidal at a time like this?" Link asked, thinking that such a strategy was suicide.

"Link, if anyone can pull this off, it's you," Jonathan responded truthfully. He had actually put all thoughts of suicide out of his mind by this point.

Link understood that Jonathan was right in his assessment of the situation, but how to do the task was the real challenge Link faced. He turned to look at Ganon, whose back was still turned toward him. Suddenly, Link had an idea. He took the Mirror Shield and placed it on his back, then he switched the Master Sword into his right hand as he grabbed the Longshot out of the pouch attached to his belt with his left hand. Link only hoped that his reflexes were faster than Ganon's right now.

Ganon turned again to face his archnemesis, not noticing that Link was now without his shield. Ganon rushed at Link again, slashing his daggers at his much smaller foe. However, Link ran forward and under Ganon. Once there, Link looked up and aimed the Longshot to the highest point on Ganon's back that he figured the chain could reach, which was a point in the middle of the beast's back directly underneath his right shoulder. Quickly, Link launched the grapple hook of the Longshot and suddenly was sickened. _Oh no! I forgot Jonathan had the grapple hook changed!_ He suddenly thought, panic starting to settle in as the Longshot chain fully extended and the whole thing, chain and hook fell to the ground with a metallic clatter.

"Jonathan! I can't grapple up Ganon's back!" Link exclaimed as he retrieved the Longshot chain and hook while running away from the beast as he turned again.

Jonathan cursed at himself for not bringing the spike grapple hook with him, then turned to the task of finding another way to scale the huge beast. "Lets see, we have a shield, two swords, a Longshot with the wrong kind of hook, a bow, and metal-tipped arrows," Jonathan began, "And we need to find a way to get up that thing's back."

"I've noticed his scales overlap each other from top to bottom," Link noted suddenly, "So if I could get up to the middle of his back, I could use the Longshot to hook onto the scales on the other side of his shoulder."

Jonathan thought for a moment about how to scale Ganon to that height. Then, it hit him. "We have two swords," he said blankly, "Two swords."

Link pondered why Jonathan would mention this, and then a look of horror filled his face. "Oh no, you can't be serious," he replied.

"It's time to climb," Jonathan affirmed.

Link hooked the Longshot onto his belt and then switched the Master Sword back to his left hand. He then pulled the other blade out of its sheathe with his now free right hand. _I just hope I have enough strength left to pull this off,_ he thought as he began running at Ganon once again, who was also running at Link. This time, Ganon tried to prevent Link from sliding under him by bringing his daggers at Link from his legs and moving them forward along the ground. Link countered this by jumping over the blades and then ran onto Ganon's short tail. Once at the point where the tail met the beast's body, Link took his swords and plunged them into the highest point he could reach from where he was. This caused Ganon to scream in pain as Link then began the laborious process of climbing the monster's back using his swords as his only handholds. Ganon would take a couple swipes at him, but had to be careful with his daggers or else he would stab himself. Link was able to avoid Ganon's blades fairly easily as he got close enough to Ganon's right shoulder to use the Longshot again. He let go of the Master Sword with his left hand as he recovered the Longshot and shot it over the beast's shoulder. After the chain had extended itself fully, Link waited for the hook to fall as far as it could before he slowly began to reel it in. The hook then quickly caught itself on one of Ganon's scales. Link then quickly retrieved both of his swords with his right hand and removed them from Ganon's back as he used the Longshot to pull himself up to the monster's right shoulder. Once there, Link took both his swords, still in his right hand, and stabbed Ganon in the eye with them. Immediately, Ganon let out a roar of pain and dropped his daggers to clutch at his now destroyed eye. Link lost his balance and would have fallen backwards, but the Longshot hook was still secured and thus he did not fall very far.

But as Link stood up again and prepared to swing over to the left shoulder, Ganon grabbed him with his left hand. "Shit!" Link yelled as Ganon held him about ten feet away from his left eye and then brought up his right hand to further imprison him. And then, with an evil smile, Ganon growled as his hands tightened their grip violently around Link.

Link screamed in pain, more at the fact that he was now completely at the will of Ganon's power than in actual pain from the beast's crushing grip. _This is it,_ he thought in desperation, _Ganon is going to win._

However, as Jonathan was completely detached from Link's pain, he noticed something that gave him hope. "Link! Your arms are still free!" he shouted to the Hero of Time, "You still have your blades!"

Link suddenly realized that this was true. Fighting through the pain and an ominous cracking sound coming from his chest, Link put the Master Sword back in his left hand and then stabbed his swords down into the spaces between the thumbs and index fingers of both of the beast's hands. This loosened Ganon's grip enough so that Link could escape. Then, Link saw that he was still close enough to reach Ganon's face. Using the monster's fingers as a launching point, Link jumped out of Ganon's grip and toward the right side of his face. He then used the sword in his right hand to stab into an area just below and to the side of the unharmed eye. And then, using the momentum of his body swinging back toward the center of the monster's face, he took the Master Sword in his left hand and stabbed it into Ganon's right eye.

The effect was instant, though not exactly what the Hero of Time had in mind. In reaction to his new injury, Ganon brought both of his hands up to his right eye, screaming in pain. And as Link tried to work his way over to the beast's right shoulder, Ganon realized that he must still be near his eye. Moreover, he had felt that the blade that destroyed his left eye had come from below and from his left. And so, Ganon used his hands to quickly wipe the skin of his face in those areas. While he didn't crush Link under his hands, he was able to completely dislodge Link from his face, sending him plummeting to the stone floor of the Royal Chamber with frightening speed.

Once again, Link slammed against the floor on his back. He was able to keep his head up through the fall and minimized how much contact his head had with the floor when he hit it, so he remained conscious. However, he was now in terrible pain. He groaned in agony as he attempted to get back on his feet, but couldn't even roll over or sit without the pain being too great.

_I have him right where I want him now,_ Link thought dejectedly, _And yet, I can't get up to fire just one arrow at him._

Jonathan knew that Link was completely out of commission at this point. Almost every bone in Link's body by now had something wrong with it, and most of his ribs had been broken on the second impact with the stone floor. "Link, let me take over from here," Jonathan demanded.

"You already used a Light Arrow, Jonathan," Link pointed out, struggling to talk, "Can you fire another one?"

"Yeah," Jonathan affirmed quickly, "Besides, you're no good to anyone right now."

Link realized that was true and decided to allow Jonathan to use his body again. As the magical energy coursed through his body, the ailments which Link had just suffered were corrected partially. Several of his ribs were still broken or cracked, but now Jonathan could stand up without too much pain. After he had complete control again, Jonathan got up slowly and quietly. By this time, Ganon had grown silent and his hands were out in front of him, reaching around for some sense of direction. The white light that had once emanated from the monster's eyes was gone now, replaced by a viscous black liquid which slowly flowed down Ganon's face and then dropped to the ground with a remarkably loud noise. Jonathan could only assume that it was Ganon's blood.

Jonathan had left his swords lying on the ground as he finally stood up and pulled the bow off his back. Very carefully, he reached back with his right hand and slowly drew an arrow out of his quiver. Jonathan strung the bow with this arrow, and then pulled back with his right hand and aimed at Ganon's head.

_I only have enough energy for one more arrow,_ Jonathan thought as he pushed the Light Power into the arrow. The energy that began to run through the projectile made no sound as the arrow began to glow with a golden light that the beast could no longer see. But Jonathan did not fire immediately. Instead, he waited for Ganon to begin to move toward him, in order to be certain that this one last shot would not miss. It was at this point that Ganon's hands finally came into contact with the wall of the Royal Chamber to Jonathan's left, which was the one he was standing closer to. Using his hands to stay off of the wall and to have a better chance of stepping on his attacker, Ganon turned toward Jonathan and began to walk slowly toward him.

_Big mistake,_ Jonathan thought in triumph as he let the glowing arrow fly at the monster's head.

Ganon heard the sound of the bowstring being released, but by that point it was already far too late. The Light Arrow slammed into the middle of his disfigured face and went straight through his head. It was not a mortal wound, but most definitely a debilitating one. Ganon shrieked in pain and grabbed at his face, black blood pouring out of the wound at a frightening pace. Jonathan watched as the beast then fell to his knees as his strength began to fail him. Jonathan walked over to where his two blades lay on the ground, intending to finish the fight now, when a swirl of purple and pink light began to illuminate the chamber from the opened main doorway. As Jonathan watched, the light entered the room and quickly swallowed up Ganon. Within a few moments, Ganon screamed as his body seemed to dissolve into a million tiny pieces. His shouts reverberated several times off the walls of the room as the light then slowly moved back out of the Royal Chamber, almost as if beckoning Jonathan to follow.

"Link, what the hell is that thing?" Jonathan asked as he began to follow the light out of the castle.

"That's old Sheikah magic," Link explained, "It is used to transport the bodies of the weak from one place to another. The two colors mixed means there are two Sheikah using it together. It usually moves faster than that."

"Perhaps whoever is using it right now wants me to follow the light," Jonathan suggested.

"Then that would mean whoever is moving Ganon knows you are here," Link pointed out.

"Orizon," Jonathan realized, "It must be him."

"Then who is the second one?" Link wondered aloud, "The only other living Sheikah I can think of is Impa, and I'm pretty sure she's not behind this."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough who the other one is," Jonathan stated as he continued to follow the light through the castle, the light illuminating the hallways almost as if it were day. A few imps tried to stop him, but Jonathan easily got around that problem. Now that Ganon had been defeated, no imp was going to stop Jonathan until he had all the answers he wanted.

After a few minutes of running, Jonathan finally reached the main entrance of the castle, where two imps tried to take him down. Their attempts were cut short by some skillful sword fighting on Jonathan's part, who killed both imps in less than ten seconds. He then looked for the strange light again and found it, but now it had begun to move quickly away from him, heading south toward Hyrule Castle Town.

"That light has to be heading toward the Temple of Time," Link commented.

"Then that's where we have to go," Jonathan replied as he started out running across the grounds of Hyrule Castle. However, he soon had to start jogging, as his injured ribs were starting to bother him by this point.

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Indeed, it was Orizon who was in the Temple of Time. As the captured Ganon was brought into the Temple of Time, the old Sheikah took the monster and pushed him into the chamber where the Master Sword once resided. Orizon then muttered a few unintelligible words, which caused another purple light to flood the room and pushed Ganon back into Sacred Realm, sealing the way out behind him. However, Orizon knew that this was only a temporary seal.

"Ganon has been defeated," Orizon remarked, turning back towards the main part of the temple, "Now, go and finish your mission. He will arrive soon."

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After about 15 minutes of jogging, Jonathan finally had Hyrule Castle Town in sight again.

"Hopefully, Orizon will finally give me the answers I want," Jonathan remarked to himself.

Link finally decided that now was the time to talk to Jonathan about what had happened earlier. "Jonathan, you don't have to do that," he stated.

"Do what?" Jonathan asked perplexed.

"Kill yourself over what happened," Link reminded.

Jonathan actually didn't recall what he had sworn to do less than an hour ago; so much had happened since then, the thought of suicide had completely left his mind. Jonathan actually chuckled before he replied. "I actually forgot all about that, now that you mention it," he said, his mood now growing more somber as he recalled what had happened during this night.

"Jonathan, you don't have to do that, you know," Link pleaded.

"Link, give me one reason why I shouldn't," Jonathan demanded in all seriousness.

Link thought for a moment before replying. "You still have much to live for, you know," Link suggested.

Jonathan laughed at that notion. "Link, Zelda wasn't just some pretty girl to me," Jonathan retorted, "She had become everything to me. I loved her more than anything else. I loved her more than life itself. If I could change places with her right now, I'd do it in an instant and with no regrets." Jonathan now began to cry again. "Link, you don't understand the way I felt about her," he finished.

Link had to concede that point. He knew that Jonathan was being completely truthful at this point with his words because of the tears. They weren't for show; Link knew that Jonathan couldn't cry for show. In addition, while Link had deep feelings for Zelda as well, they weren't even close to what Jonathan felt for her. While Link loved Zelda, he knew that, for now, his destiny lay down a different path from hers. He realized now that Jonathan and Zelda would walk through the path of fate together on this run through life.

"Alright then," Link concluded, "I won't try to stop you, but at least let me seal Ganon within the Sacred Realm before you go and do anything drastic."

"Agreed," Jonathan accepted, "Our mission isn't over yet."

_And it won't be over for you after this is over, either,_ Link thought to himself. Although Link had no recollections of it, he knew that he had lived through life many times before. And he knew that Zelda had done the same. Since Jonathan was a hero told of in Hylian legends, he knew that the same would happen with him as well._Perhaps we will meet again after this._

Jonathan's chest was starting to really hurt now as he entered Hyrule Castle Town again. He stopped as he re-entered the town and sat down against a house and rested for a few minutes, trying to let the pain from his ribs subside. He looked to the eastern horizon and saw that the sun was not too far away from rising on a new day. Soon Ganon would be banished from Hyrule again and the people of the land could live in peace.

Reflecting on all that had happened to Jonathan since he was brought to this world, he decided that he had no regrets and that if given the choice, he would do this all over again. And that thought gave him the strength to get up and walk the distance that was left between himself and the Temple of Time. He stood before the large doors for a long moment, contemplating what might be waiting inside.

"Well, whatever awaits, I have no regrets," Jonathan affirmed, "And hopefully, my questions will finally be answered." And with that, he entered the structure.

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Author's Notes: And there you have it. But this story is not over yet. I think I got some nice Prince of Persia-esque action in there.

Two chapters to go.

New chapter next Friday. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.


	32. Chapter 31: Final Revelations

Author's Notes: Once again, thanks to all of you who read my story in the past week. And a special thanks to those of you who submitted a review.

SPark681: Yes, you get the feeling that whatever is inside the temple is going to change Jonathan's life forever. Everything is coming together now, as should happen at the end of a story. Thanks for the support.

Cimar of Turalis: Well, there is only one chapter left after this one, but I think I'll add a couple of surprises next week to keep you looking forward to the future. Thanks for your support.

Wow, 4,000 hits. You guys have been just absolutely amazing over the past six months. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Sadly, this story is reaching its conclusion. Here comes the final regular chapter.

**Chapter 31: Final Revelations**

Orizon was crouched behind the platform on which the three Spiritual Stones rested as he heard someone enter the Temple of Time. He could tell immediately from the sounds of the footfalls on the stone floor that whoever had just entered the temple was injured somehow, as the unevenly spaced footfalls indicated that the person was limping. And the sounds of the footfalls told Orizon that this person was wearing leather boots. At this point, Orizon had a pretty good idea who this person was. He remained quiet and listened carefully as the footfalls came closer to him.

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By now, Jonathan was, indeed, limping because of his broken ribs. He grabbed his chest with his left hand as he walked closer to the inner chamber of the Temple of Time. The temple was still lit as if it were day, with light streaming in through the windows even though the sun was still below the horizon, so Jonathan had to conclude that these lights were not natural, but magical. While this would have boggled his mind the last time he was in this building, this didn't surprise him anymore.

As Jonathan reached the platform on which the Spiritual Stones were floating, he placed both his hands down on the platform and dropped his head. He stood for a moment like this, then he looked up into the inner chamber ahead, his breathing labored by his chest pains, which rose with every breath he took in. The chamber was still completely illuminated, just as it had been the last time he had seen it. He saw the pedestal that the Master Sword had once been embedded in, still awaiting the blade's return to seal the Sacred Realm off once again.

Jonathan then looked up even further and something entered his sight that he wasn't expecting to see. Up where the light illuminating the chamber was emanating from, Jonathan saw a purple light that seemed to act like a barrier of sorts. And behind that barrier, Jonathan could see a creature screaming and clawing at it, as if trying to escape from its bondage.

"Ganon," Jonathan said upon seeing the monster, "Link, what is that?"

"It's Sheikah magic," Link informed Jonathan, "It's a magical barrier that is usually used to stop projectiles like arrows. It appears that Orizon is trying to hold Ganon within the Sacred Realm with his magic. But it can't last forever."

"Then Orizon is on our side," Jonathan commented, "Perhaps we had better seal it up permanently now. Think you can do it, Link?"

"It won't require much for me to put it back in the pedestal," Link answered, "The real question is if you can walk up to it in your condition right now."

Jonathan laughed, but understood where Link's concern was coming from. "Don't worry, I'll get us there," he assured as he prepared to start walking again. Once again, his chest began to burn in agonizing pain, but Jonathan would find a way to walk through it. However, something else would stop him dead in his tracks like nothing else could.

"Jonathan," a most familiar female voice called softly from behind Jonathan.

The hair on the back of Jonathan's neck stood on end immediately. The voice was unmistakable, but he knew that what he had concluded was utterly impossible.

"That's impossible," Link claimed in disbelief.

Jonathan was so shocked by the voice that he couldn't say anything as he turned around. There, standing in front of him, was a young woman in a dress of pink, purple, and white silks. She had fairly pale skin and, to Jonathan, remarkably long and pointed ears, though he was now used to that too. Her flowing naturally blonde hair went down to her shoulder blades. And her eyes were an unearthly shade of purple. Her voice had been unmistakable, and now her appearance made it a certainty, as she was standing just seven feet away from him, but Jonathan still thought it impossible.

"Zelda," he whispered in disbelief as he began to walk toward her. However, with his first step, he heard a sickening crack come from his chest. He felt a great increase in pain as he couldn't stand up any longer and had to go down to his hands on knees with a loud grunt of pain as he clutched his chest. He could walk no further in his condition.

"Jonathan!" Zelda shouted after a gasp and ran over to Jonathan. She sensed that Jonathan had broken multiple ribs and that at this point his body was just completely worn down. He really couldn't take any more physical punishment now.

"Zelda, is it really you?" Jonathan asked, unable to look at the princess.

"Don't talk, Jonathan," Zelda replied as she closed her eyes and placed her hand lightly on Jonathan's chest. He hissed in pain at first at the contact, but at the same time he felt the warmth of Zelda's hand on his injured chest and realized that Zelda was, indeed, alive. She moved her hand around lightly, frowning at the damage she felt inside Jonathan's chest. "What did that terrible beast do to you?" she asked.

"He tossed me around like a rag doll a little," Jonathan explained, still grimacing from the pain, "But Link and I were able to weaken him enough for Orizon to encase Ganon within the Sacred Realm, it seems."

"Hang on a moment," Zelda said as she closed her eyes. A few moments later, a light blue glow began to emanate from the hand as she slowly moved it up and down Jonathan's chest. Suddenly, after a few passes of her hand, Jonathan began to feel the pain in his ribs subside.

"Zelda, what are you doing?" Jonathan asked as his pain completely vanished.

"It's a little bit of old healer's magic," Zelda explained as she removed her hand from his chest and the blue light faded quickly away, "It temporarily mends broken bones, but it's not permanent. We'll have to get you soaked in Blue Potion again for that."

Jonathan got off of his hands and rested on his heels as his torso stood up straight and he ran his hands over his ribs, testing to see if they were actually whole again. Satisfied, he smiled as he looked at Zelda's beautiful face again. "Zelda, how can you be alive?" he asked her, "I watched you die in my arms back in the castle."

"The Triforce was able to revive me," Zelda answered as Jonathan glanced at the back of his left hand reflexively, "But I don't have it anymore."

"Why not?" Jonathan inquired, placing his hands on the floor to his sides.

Almost as if in reply to Jonathan's question, all of a sudden, a purple bolt of electricity struck Jonathan's left hand. Feeling an uncomfortable tingling from this attack, Jonathan attempted to move his hand away from his attacker as he shouted in surprise, but found himself unable to move it. In fact, he was now unable to move any part of his body except for his head. Suddenly, Jonathan screamed in pain as he felt as if the skin of his left hand was being ripped off. His head kept twisting around and his face was contorted by the pain as he continued to scream.

All Zelda could do was watch as the tears began to well up in her eyes. She knew that this was necessary, but to see Jonathan in this much pain tormented her. As she saw the Triforce of Courage begin to leave Jonathan's body, she finally began to cry as she said, "Jonathan, I'm sorry."

Jonathan heard Zelda's voice, but he couldn't understand what she had said; his screams drowned out everything else he could hear. The pain just got worse and worse until finally the Triforce was removed from his hand. Once that happened, both the pain of tearing flesh and the tingling electricity left Jonathan's body completely as Jonathan quickly jerked his left hand in front of his face. Looking at it, he noticed that it was unharmed. There were no scratches or marks of any kind on it. But the outline of the Triforce, along with the glowing Triforce of Courage, were also gone. Suddenly, for the first time in months, Jonathan was afraid of what had just happened to him. He quickly turned around as he drew out his sword with his right hand.

"Thank you Jonathan," Orizon began as he drew the Triforce of Courage closer to him as he walked out from behind the platform in the room, "You've done much more than I could have ever expected from you. I am most impressed."

"Orizon," Jonathan replied with a growl as he stood up and pulled out his shield with his left arm, "I knew you had to be here. I don't know what you're planning to do with the Triforce, but I'm going to make sure you don't cause any more trouble in this world."

And with that, Jonathan took a step toward the old Sheikah before he felt a pair of hands grab him forcefully around his shoulders and tried to hold him back. "Jonathan, no, you can't do that," he heard Zelda proclaim from behind him.

At this, a wave of despair and anger washed over Jonathan. Zelda, the woman he loved more than anything else in the world, a person he would trust his life to, had just betrayed him to the man who had caused all this trouble in the land she would rule one day. For a brief instant, he wanted to turn around and strike her down on the spot, but then he realized that he still didn't understand what was happening. _None of this makes any goddamn sense!_ he thought frustratingly to himself, _What the hell is going on here?_

It seemed that Orizon saw the confusion in Jonathan as he brought the three Triforces together in front of the platform on which the Spiritual Stones rested. "Don't worry Jonathan," he attempted to assure as he stepped next to the completed Triforce, "I am not your enemy. You will understand everything soon, I promise."

"Jonathan, trust me, I haven't betrayed you," Zelda also assured as she released Jonathan from her grip, "Why would I betray my own father like this?"

"For the throne," Jonathan replied instinctively, not thinking about whom he was talking to. He had more than a few examples from Earth history of members of royal families who were willing to kill their own family members for power without a second thought. But he immediately wanted to take those words back, as he knew that Zelda wasn't that kind of person.

To his surprise, Zelda chuckled as she turned him around to look at her again. "I'm not that desperate, Jonathan," she informed, "Don't bother saying sorry, I know you are."

It was Jonathan's turn to chuckle now, along with Orizon. "I saw you two walking away from the gathering together, but I had no idea how well you two work together," he said with a smile on his face, "Jonathan, you have my blessings."

_Blessings?_ Jonathan thought, once again confused, _Why would he give me any blessings? Unless, well, what exactly is his relationship with Zelda?_ Jonathan knew that he was probably about to have that question answered in full.

Orizon now looked at the Triforce and placed his right hand on its top as the three golden triangles formed a larger one. "Goddesses of the Triforce, hear my plea," he began as he now looked skyward, "Bring back to us the one whom Ganon himself destroyed, the one who is most dear to me, Queen Eleza."

"Queen Eleza?" Jonathan asked aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

Suddenly, the Triforce flew apart in a bright flash of white light from which Jonathan had to shield his eyes. The light slowly dimmed, taking a full 20 seconds to dissipate completely. When Jonathan looked at where the Triforce had been, it was gone, replaced by a woman who was lying flat on her back. Her hair would have reached down to her waist and while it was white now, Jonathan incorrectly assumed that it had once been a shade of blonde very similar to Zelda's. Her ears were about ten inches long and extended directly away from her head, which told Jonathan that she was a Sheikah. Her facial features were quite a bit softer than what Jonathan was used to from a Sheikah, with her cheeks being rounder and her nose less pointed than any other Sheikah Jonathan had encountered before. She was about 5-feet, 11-inches tall and was wearing red robes over her body that were not too dissimilar from Zelda's except for the color scheme. Her skin tone was a bit paler than Impa's. In fact, as Jonathan looked at the face of the middle-aged woman, he felt that Eleza bore little resemblance to her sister. She also looked quite a bit different from her daughter, Zelda, but Jonathan could have sworn that he had seen her face before. Suddenly, Jonathan noticed that her chest was rising and falling slowly. She was alive. "Oh my God!" he muttered, "She's alive!"

Orizon smiled as he saw the rising and falling of Eleza's chest. "Queen Eleza, it is time for you to return to us," he called to her quietly.

After a few seconds, Eleza momentarily closed her eyes tighter than before, then opened her eyes, revealing her red eyes to the air. Suddenly, it hit Jonathan. _It's Sheik,_ he realized, _Her face is the same as Sheik's._ Jonathan glanced behind him to Zelda and now understood the relationship between Zelda and Sheik, which only now he was able to fully contemplate. Before now, his mind had been filled with so many other thoughts to even think about the fact that Zelda and Sheik were the same person. _She and I are going to have a talk about that,_ Jonathan thought.

Orizon watched as Eleza slowly rose herself into a sitting position, looking around her to see what her situation was. Eleza caught sight of Jonathan first, who was obstructing Zelda from her view.

"Who are you?" she asked Jonathan as she stood up, her voice resembling that of her daughter's.

"Perhaps I can help explain all that has happened to both of you," Orizon interrupted.

Eleza turned around and saw the elder Sheikah. "Orizon, what has happened here?" she asked as she walked toward Orizon and the two shared an embrace.

Orizon broke away from the embrace after a few moments and looked down at the revived queen of Hyrule. "Everything will be explained in good time, Your Majesty," he assured as he looked toward Jonathan, "But first, Jonathan, now is the time to seal the Sacred Realm. If you would, please do it quickly."

_Yeah, I suppose that would be a good idea now,_ Jonathan thought. Nodding to Orizon, he jogged up the stairs to the left of the platform in the room and entered the inner chamber of the temple. As he approached the pedestal, he grabbed the Master Sword with his left hand for the last time.

"Jonathan, I suppose this is goodbye," Link commented immediately.

"Yes, at least for now," Jonathan admitted, "But perhaps we will meet again someday."

"Oh, I'm sure we will," Link agreed, "Yes, I'm certain the Goddesses have more in mind for both you and myself. I'm sure we shall meet again in another lifetime in order to fight evil."

"Reincarnated?" Jonathan asked as he stepped up to the pedestal itself.

"Something like that, yes," Link confirmed, "But that said, while your soul will live on, I would not endorse your thoughts of suicide."

Jonathan laughed at that. "Trust me, those are gone now," Jonathan assured, "Now that I have Zelda again."

Lightning coursed through Jonathan's body as he transformed into the Hero of Time for the last time. Upon completing the transformation, however, Link collapsed onto his knees, causing the others in the temple great concern for a moment.

"Link! What's wrong?" Jonathan asked.

"I think I'm just exhausted from my battle with Ganon," Link replied, "I can do this, don't worry."

And with that, Link raised the Master Sword's hilt up to his head, pointing the blade down as he took hold of the hilt with both hands. Taking one last deep breath, Link moved the blade so that it was over the pedestal and then plunged it into the stone. With that, the light that illuminated the inner chamber receded once again into a single ray that emanated from the roof onto the pedestal and the sword embedded in it. The Sacred Realm, Ganon, and the Triforce had once again been sealed away from the land of Hyrule.

"Jonathan, take care of Princess Zelda," Link requested, "Protect her from harm."

"I will," Jonathan assured, "Farewell, my friend."

"Farewell," Link replied, "And thank you."

And as Link let go of his grip on the Master Sword, he removed himself from Jonathan's body in what appeared to be a cloud of sand that sparkled in the limited light of the inner chamber. Jonathan watched in amazement as the individual grains of twinkling light blinked out of sight, one by one, until none were left. Link had returned to the winds of Hyrule, waiting for his next call to duty by the Goddesses.

"Wow," Jonathan whispered aloud after the lights had faded. Link's departure from his body had been totally painless. He got back onto his feet and walked to the back of the platform upon which the three Spiritual Stones rested and realized that his mission wasn't quite over yet.

"Is something wrong, Jonathan?" Zelda asked, approaching the platform.

In response to that, Jonathan picked up the Zora's Sapphire from its place on the platform and looked toward Zelda. "Here, catch," he said as he heaved the Spiritual Stone toward her. Zelda caught it, and as she did, the Door of Time began to close slowly once again. After about 15 seconds, the huge stone slabs finally ran into each other, sealing off the Master Sword from the outside world.

"Your Highness," Jonathan began addressing Zelda, "Mission complete." He then turned toward Orizon. "And now Orizon," he continued, attempting to look as menacing as possible to the old Sheikah, "I believe you owe us an explanation for your actions."

Orizon chuckled at this. "I find that I'm liking you more and more, Jonathan," he admitted as he walked toward Jonathan, "But if you are referring to yourself, Queen Eleza, and Princess Zelda, then you are mistaken. I have already explained myself to Princess Zelda."

"Zelda, is this true?" Jonathan asked as he turned toward her, drawing the undivided attention of her mother.

"Yes," Zelda affirmed as she nodded her head, "He told me everything, and I understand why he did what he did."

Jonathan paused for a moment, contemplating this. He then looked at Orizon again. "Well, spit it out," he ordered, "I'm waiting to hear your full story, old man."

"Young man, you need to learn to have respect for your elders," Queen Eleza interrupted.

Jonathan was about to reply to this when Orizon jumped the gun on him. "No, Your Highness," he said quickly, "This young man has been through hell tonight because of my actions. He deserves an explanation now that his work is done." He then turned back toward Jonathan.

"Jonathan, I had one goal in mind when I brought Ganondorf back from the Sacred Realm," Orizon began, "And that was to destroy him once and for all. You see, I felt that Link was still in Hyrule somewhere, but I couldn't figure out where exactly. I took it to mean that he was in hiding, waiting for Ganon's return. But if Ganon returned on his terms, he would have had the entire Triforce behind him. And that would have caused a catastrophe.

"So, I decided to bring Ganon back to Hyrule myself, but on my own terms. I allowed his spirit through the barrier dividing this world from the Golden Land, but I kept the Triforce in the Sacred Realm. Effectively, he was just another mortal being, but only one person could destroy him. I figured that once Link had sensed Ganon's return to the land, he would come to destroy the mortal Ganon.

"However, I made a terrible miscalculation. It turned out that Link was not hiding, but rather in incorporeal form inside the Master Sword. For months, I waited for a sign the Link was coming to destroy Ganon. But my miscalculation finally caught up to me, with horrific results. Ganondorf launched a surprise attack on Hyrule Castle. Many of the castle's defenders were killed, along with Queen Eleza, who sacrificed herself to buy her family members time to escape from Ganondorf's clutches."

"Yes, I remember that," Eleza pointed out, "And, of course, that is the last thing I remembered up until now. What has happened since?"

"I will explain that to you later, Your Highness," Orizon assured, then turned back toward Jonathan, "So there you have it, my boy, the story of why I did what I did. I made one mistake, and thanks to your help, it has been corrected, although Ganon continues to live."

"And what of the knights who died in Hyrule Castle's defense?" Jonathan asked.

"I think nothing of them," Orizon said, brushing them off, "Jonathan, you'll soon figure out that the Hylian Guard as it exists now is really more trouble than it's worth; nothing but a bunch of bumbling idiots in suits of armor. But when I lost Eleza, I was heartbroken."

"Heartbroken?" Jonathan repeated confused, "Why?"

Orizon looked down to the floor and shook his head. "You really don't understand still, do you?" he asked quietly.

Jonathan shook his head in response. He had ideas that kept floating through his mind, but it seemed to Jonathan like none of them added up correctly.

Orizon looked at Eleza before speaking again. "Jonathan, this should make everything come together for you," he reported, "Queen Eleza happens to be my daughter."

Jonathan was absolutely stunned by that revelation. But then he thought on it and he mentally slapped himself. _God, how could I have been so stupid?_ he berated himself, _It all makes perfect sense now. Orizon is Zelda's grandfather, meaning they are related. And he has been helping us out all this time._ "You were the one who possessed Princess Chale of the Gerudo, wasn't it?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Orizon smiled. "So you aren't as stupid as you look, Jonathan," he commended, "Yes, that was my work. Of course, I had no intentions of hurting either you or Chale. That was to get you an excuse to go to the Spirit Temple. And it worked to perfection."

"Yes, it certainly did," Jonathan affirmed, starting to step out from behind the platform, "And I also understand why you couldn't let me in on this whole thing."

Orizon nodded his head. "I couldn't risk having Ganondorf realizing I was on your side," he elaborated.

"Considering I'm a terrible actor, good call," Jonathan replied as he walked toward Zelda, "Well, I suppose the Spiritual Stones should be returned to their rightful owners now; this war is over."

"Yes Jonathan, you are right," Orizon agreed, "And I will make sure the stones get back to their owners." He then began walking toward the platform and retrieved the two remaining stones there with magic before turning toward Zelda. "Granddaughter, would you mind?" he asked as he stretched out his hand while holding the two stones against his chest with his other arm.

Zelda was perplexed for a second about the request, then realized he wanted the sapphire. "Oh, of course," Zelda replied as she tossed her stone toward Orizon, who used his magical powers to catch it and bring it to him.

"Thank you," Orizon said as he grabbed the Sapphire and began walking toward Eleza when he noticed Jonathan and Zelda discussing something quietly. Looking back at his daughter, he noticed that she hadn't noticed this. _Oh, why not have a last little bit of fun with him?_ he asked himself. Finding no reason not to, he said intentionally loudly, "Well Jonathan, it seems as if this hero does get a princess, doesn't it?"

Jonathan paused, then turned toward Orizon, confused as to why he would voice such a thought out loud. As he looked, he saw that the damage had already been done. Eleza was walking toward him with a serious look on her face. _Oh shit,_ Jonathan thought as he began to panic, _If Impa was possessive, I don't want to know what her mother is going to do to me. Dammit Orizon, why did you do this to me?_

Eleza had a stern look on her face as she walked up to Jonathan's face. Eleza and Jonathan were about the same height, so they looked at each other in the eyes. Or at least Eleza did. She could see that Jonathan was trying to avoid her gaze as much as he could. This greatly annoyed the queen. "Look me in the eyes, warrior," she commanded.

Jonathan had no choice. He stared into Eleza's red eyes, awaiting his judgement and fate. Eleza could see from his eyes that he did not want to be encountering her. _So he hurt my daughter somehow,_ she deduced, keeping a straight face. "Have you hurt my daughter?" she asked.

Jonathan suddenly found himself unable to speak, but he didn't have to. "No, mother, he has done nothing wrong," Zelda defended, "I love him."

Eleza looked back at Jonathan again. "And you?" she asked, "What are your feelings for my daughter?"

"I love your daughter more than anything else in the world, Your Majesty," Jonathan replied truthfully as he bowed his head, though he was still very nervous.

Eleza stepped back and began looking up and down Jonathan's body as she slowly walked around him. "What are you doing?" Jonathan asked, "Looking me over?"

"Something like that," Eleza confirmed as she finished her look around Jonathan, "Well, I suppose my daughter has good taste, but his appearance is somewhat undignified, I think."

"Oh yes, that is a certainty," Orizon affirmed as he walked up to Jonathan, "But I'm sure we can fix that. Perhaps a beard will do the trick."

Jonathan groaned. _Great, already they're grooming me to be a king,_ he thought, wanting no part of this. Zelda simply giggled in response to all this.

Just then, Zelda turned around and looked toward the door of the Temple of Time. "I think someone is coming here," she informed.

The others in the temple looked toward the door and also heard what Zelda was hearing, although Jonathan had a little trouble at first hearing the sounds of trotting horses and the footfalls of soldiers, along with the various orders being shouted out. These sounds were definitely coming closer to their position.

"Sounds like King Alazon will take it from here," Jonathan commented.

"Eleza, I would suggest you stay back," Orizon suggested to his daughter, "His Highness may be severely shocked to see you again."

"I know that man better than anyone else, father," Eleza replied as she walked to the head of the group of four, "And I know he won't have any health problems from seeing me again."

"We'll know soon enough, I think," Zelda remarked.

After a few more minutes, the voices of the various soldiers could be understood more clearly. Soon after this, Jonathan heard a familiar voice shouting, "Alright, we're splitting up! Divisions one and three, follow me to the castle to secure it! Division two, accompany His Majesty to the temple! Move out!"

"That was General Attula, I'm sure of it!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Then Alazon is coming here now," Orizon mused, preparing to meet his son-in-law again.

Another few minutes passed before someone finally entered the Temple of Time. Jonathan figured it would be a guard of some kind to make way for the king, so he was quite surprised when King Alazon himself burst into the temple, carrying a broadsword in his right hand, with no shield or armor. His eyes quickly began to scan the temple interior when he caught sight of Eleza, standing about 15 feet away from him, looking back at him.

"Eleza?" the king asked, his tone giving away his disbelief in what he was seeing.

"Alazon," Eleza replied as she began walking toward her husband with her arms outstretched.

Alazon returned the gesture, with the two meeting and embracing each other tightly. "Oh Eleza, is it really you?" Alazon asked, still in disbelief.

"Yes, my love, I'm back," Eleza confirmed, "I'm sorry I left you for so long."

Several soldiers quietly entered the Temple of Time, led by Impa, as these words were exchanged. Jonathan noted that while Impa must have been shocked to see her younger sister alive again, she definitely did not show it. A moment after this, Jonathan felt his right hand being touched. Looking to his right, he saw Princess Zelda grabbing his right hand with her left. She then leaned over and whispered into Jonathan's ear.

"Come on, lets get back to the Forest Temple," she said.

Jonathan looked at Zelda and nodded in agreement. Still holding hands, the two lovers walked around the monarchs of Hyrule and made their way toward the entrance of the temple, but Jonathan just knew that Impa wouldn't let them by without some kind of a fight.

"And just what do you think you're doing, young man?" she asked him quietly but sternly.

Jonathan knew that Impa was trying to bore into his negative emotions with her gaze, but it wasn't working anymore. "We're going back to the Forest Temple, Impa," Zelda explained to her aunt, "Jonathan has sustained some injuries that need to be healed."

Impa looked suspiciously at Jonathan, who now wasn't afraid of her. _If her mother allows it, then who is Impa to deny?_ he reasoned to himself as he looked Impa in the eyes and refused to back down. It was the first time he had been able to do this. To his surprise, Impa nodded. "Alright," she said slowly, "It should be safe to get there on foot; I'm sorry but we didn't bring any extra horses."

"That's fine," Zelda answered as she walked through the small crowd of soldiers at the entrance, who parted for their princess to get through. She was still hanging onto Jonathan's hand. Together, they walked through the center of Hyrule Castle Town and toward the drawbridge that connected the town to Hyrule Field. It took about ten minutes for the two to reach the wide open expanse, just in time to watch the sun rise on a brand new day. Hand in hand, Jonathan and Zelda watched the dawn of a new age for the land of Hyrule.

"It's beautiful," Jonathan finally remarked, breaking a long silence, "Not just the sunrise, but the whole land. It's so beautiful."

Zelda waited a moment before looking at Jonathan's head. "And one day," Zelda said, "It will be ours, Jonathan."

Jonathan looked into Zelda's eyes for a moment and nodded. They then shared a long kiss on the drawbridge.

----------

Author's Notes: And there you have it. I probably could have ended the story on this note, but I decided not to.

It appears that I made another timeline error when I wrote this story. It seems that in actuality, the events of Twilight Princess take place on the Majora's Mask half of the timeline split, not the adult Ocarina of Time side. Again, I started writing this story before Twilight Princess had been released, so I'll have to work with the timeline I have stuck myself into. Oh well, I'll make it work somehow.

The epilogue is coming next week. And I might include a few bonuses in with it, such as previews of upcoming works from me.

And that's all until next Friday. Until then, read, review, and enjoy.


	33. Epilogue: Land of My Dreams

Author's Notes: Well, this is it. I'd like to thank all those who have read my story over the past six or seven months. And a special thanks to all those who reviewed in the past week.

The Silverdark Knight: Yeah, I realize the whole Eleza thing came off a little stiff, but from my point of view, Sheikah would tend to be like that. They aren't guided by their passions as much as others would be. And while Jonathan understands that Sheik and Zelda are one in the same, they are going to have a little conversation about this at some point in the future. However, that is something I will conveniently avoid. Thanks for your support throughout this endeavor.

Cimar of Turalis: Well, thank you very much, but that wasn't the end of the story. I mean, it could have easily ended last chapter, yeah, but I decided to end it on a slightly different note. And I can't wait to get to the next part myself, but Harry Potter must come first. Thanks for all your support as well.

Infernal Flame Zero: Yeah, I can't believe it either. But there will be more to come. At least, that's my plan. As for what you did with my story, I'm flattered that you think my writing is that good, but I sincerely hope you did not claim it to be your own work. What exactly was that for, anyway? Thanks for all your support.

I'd also like to thank all of you who did review my story at one time or another. Your feedback really helped me out.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and this story is no different. So, here comes the end of this story... for now.

**Epilogue: Land of My Dreams**

It would take six months for Hyrule Castle to be refitted for the Hylian Royal Family. In that time, King Alazon, Orizon, and Impa resided in the castle to supervise the work there, while Queen Eleza, Princess Zelda and Jonathan stayed in the Forest Temple to prepare for moving back into the castle. Over the six month period, objects in the Forest Temple were either brought back to Hyrule Castle for use there or sold at public auctions.

It was the beginning of the Hylian spring when Hyrule Castle was ready for complete habitation again by the royal family and the soldiers to be stationed there. Everything in the Forest Temple that was to be used in the castle had been moved just a few days before. All that was left now was to move all the soldiers to new posts and to bring Eleza and Zelda back to Hyrule Castle. Before this task was commenced, however, Orizon visited the Forest Temple himself to inform Jonathan about a certain technicality that probably would concern him.

Orizon walked into the Main Atrium of the temple to find Jonathan finishing up an address to the two dozen soldiers who remained about their upcoming new assignments.

"As for those whose names I did not mention yet, you will be put on night watch in Kakariko Village," Jonathan began to finish, "You will be put under the command of Captain Horuntus there; she will assign your responsibilities. That's all. You're all dismissed."

The 24 soldiers dispersed in various directions, some returning to their quarters, others going back to their patrols around the temple, and others remaining in the Main Atrium to converse with each other about their new assignments. Orizon saw that Jonathan was also returning to his room. He walked toward that door, catching up to him as they got to the door.

"Jonathan, I'd like to talk to you in private," Orizon declared.

"Alright, follow me," Jonathan replied as he opened the door and led Orizon into the courtyard outside of his room. Jonathan then turned around and looked at Orizon, wearing his usual purple robe with the hood down, showing his long white mane of hair and his long ears. "Do all Sheikah get white hair early in life?" Jonathan inquired. It was an issue that had been on his mind for a while now.

Orizon chuckled as he looked at Jonathan, now wearing the blue uniform of the Hylian army and bearing the insignia of a lieutenant. He still had the sword that King Alazon had given to him more than nine months earlier, which he wore on his left hip. Overall, Orizon decided that he looked fairly imposing, with only his average height inhibiting that image. "That tends to happen to us, yes," Orizon answered, "But Princess Zelda shouldn't lose her hair color any time soon, so don't worry about that."

Jonathan laughed as he sat down on the grass. "It wouldn't matter to me if her hair turned white," he claimed.

"Speaking of Zelda, that's part of the reason why I'm here," Orizon said as he began to slowly pace around the nearby area, "Jonathan, you should know that you can't stay in Hyrule Castle when you leave here in a few days."

Jonathan's head snapped toward Orizon's location. _Is this another one of his little tricks?_ Jonathan asked himself, trying to discern any sign of dishonesty from him, but finding none. "And why can't I?" he asked.

"Well, only two kinds of people can live in Hyrule Castle itself," Orizon informed, "The first are those soldiers assigned to guard the castle. That is the most important job one in the army can have and, for that reason, has certain restrictions. The one that applies to you is that anyone who is assigned to castle guard duty must have at least one full year of service in the Hylian military. You haven't been in service to King Alazon for that long, and it could even be argued that you didn't join the army until six months ago. Either way, you are ineligible for castle guard duty."

Jonathan reflected on this information and decided that what he had just heard was reasonable. He could understand why the king would only want experienced soldiers guarding his home, although from what Jonathan understood, the Hylian army was nothing more than just a huge lot of cowards. He also had to remember that his position in the Hylian army was an honorary one for the most part. "I guess I wouldn't be able to serve as a castle guard at this point," he admitted.

Orizon sat down near Jonathan and looked at him before he continued. "The second kind of people who can live inside Hyrule Castle itself are members of the Hylian Royal Family," Orizon explained, "Since they, of course, have to live there. And while common law applies with my people, it does not with Hylians, so you are not a member of the royal family."

Jonathan thought about that for a moment. "If I were to become engaged to Zelda, would that make me a member of the royal family?" he asked the old Sheikah.

"Of course it would," Orizon affirmed, "That would make you Prince-in-Waiting of Hyrule, as a matter of fact. Of course, if you did decide to take such a course, you would have to resign your commission with the army, as the Prince of Hyrule has a set of military responsibilities of his own."

"What kinds of duties?" Jonathan inquired.

Orizon paused before answering. "You're seriously considering this," Orizon mused, "Very well, the prince is in charge of the castle guard. He also has to partake in guard duty at the castle on a regular basis."

"That's it?" Jonathan asked, thinking that being a member of the Hylian Royal Family would encompass more than that.

"Of course, there are other nonmilitary duties you would have to perform, but you would have no troubles with those," Orizon clarified, "Zelda could help you out with those. Things would be simpler for you because your position would carry little sovereign power, as Zelda was the one born into the royal family and, thus, would wield the sovereign power upon her ascension to the throne. Your position, from the position of Hyrule affairs, would be merely nominal, though you would still be regarded with admiration by the people, I would think."

Jonathan nodded as he thought for the next few minutes about everything he had heard from Orizon, although the decision seemed to be clear from the start. _I want to stay in Hyrule,_ he thought, _I want to be with Zelda. But if I can't reside in the castle, I'll be separated from her for at least two months, maybe even six._ After what had happened six months ago against Ganondorf, that prospect just wasn't acceptable. _Plus, where would I stay in the meantime? _Jonathan continued in thought, _I'd be assigned to do something dangerous, as I'm the only one in the Hylian military with even a little bit of courage._ The choice was clear, but he said nothing for a while.

Orizon decided to let Jonathan think about what he would do next. He quietly got back onto his feet and began to leave the courtyard, but Jonathan spoke up when he was only halfway to the door.

"Hey Orizon," Jonathan began to ask as he turned toward the old Sheikah, "What should a man give to a princess as an engagement present? A simple ring just won't do, will it?"

Orizon smiled as he reached into his robe for an item he had gotten for such an occasion. He drew it out of a pocket and then tossed it to Jonathan's waiting right hand.

"Thanks," Jonathan said. Orizon nodded as he turned back and left the courtyard.

Jonathan looked at the small object in his right hand. It was a beautiful ring made of gold. And on one of the edges of the ring was an arrangement of four diamonds. In the center was the largest of the four diamonds. It was completely transparent and had a round-brilliant cut. The other three diamonds were smaller than the clear diamond, but had the same cut. They were arranged around the central diamond like a triangle, with a red diamond on above it, a blue diamond below and to the left of it, and a green diamond below and to the right of it. Jonathan recognized what the design was immediately. He placed the ring in his pocket, assuming that it was priceless. It would suffice for his purposes.

----------

Jonathan entered the courtyard leading to Zelda's room about an hour later, having built up the will to do what he intended to do. _I never thought that I'd be doing something like this before the age of 24,_ he thought to himself as he sat down and waited for his lover to return to her room, _Then again, I never thought I'd be transported here. I never knew I could be a warrior._ Jonathan had done a lot of things he had never even thought of doing, and he had a feeling that it wasn't even close to being over yet. He looked forward to the life that awaited him here in Hyrule, come danger, famine, or another invasion by Ganon.

It was around noon when Jonathan heard the door to the courtyard open and close. Turning around, Jonathan caught sight of Princess Zelda entering the courtyard. Jonathan stood up and ran toward her, and she ran toward him as well. The two grabbed each other as the sun shone down into the courtyard, bathing the embracing couple in golden light.

"It's good to see you Zelda," Jonathan said as they began to separate.

"Jonathan, you see me every day," Zelda pointed out, "Why would this be any different?"

"Trust me, it will be very different," Jonathan promised, thinking about how to proceed from here.

"Is there something you want to ask me, Jonathan?" she asked after a silent moment from Jonathan.

"Well, yes, but it needs to be phrased just right," he answered, now with an idea of where he'd go from here, "Zelda, the last six months have been the best in my life thanks to you."

Zelda blushed upon hearing that. "Oh Jonathan, stop it," she said teasingly.

"No, it's true, I swear," Jonathan insisted, wrapping Zelda in his arms from behind, "I never could have dreamed that something like this could ever happen to a guy like me. To be brought to a beautiful world like Hyrule, to be considered a hero by the people, and to fall in love with the most beautiful woman in the world, no, in the Universe. It seems too good to be true. Sometimes, I'm afraid I'm about to wake up from a dream."

Zelda smiled and replied, "Then don't wake up, Jonathan, and we can be together as long as you like."

Jonathan smiled at that remark. "Zelda, I love you," he declared, "With all my heart."

"Come on, is that the best you can do?" Zelda asked with a smile, looking back into Jonathan's eyes.

"Alright, hang on a moment," Jonathan responded as his right hand quickly went for his pocket, retrieving the ring Orizon had given him an hour before. Making sure that Zelda didn't see what he was doing, he brought the ring up and into Zelda's sight. "Let me put it this way," he remarked.

Zelda caught sight of the ring in Jonathan's right hand and gasped in surprise. She was absolutely speechless.

Jonathan quickly moved around Zelda and kneeled in front of her, holding the ring up to her in his hands as an offering of love and commitment. "Zelda Hyrule," he began to ask, looking into her eyes, "Will you marry me?"

Zelda's hands clasped to her mouth in shock and delight as she squealed. It was a sound that delighted Jonathan, for he knew then what her answer would be. He smiled knowing what that answer was.

"Oh, yes," she replied after she lowered her hands, but she was still almost jumping with joy, "Yes, I will!"

"Then keep your hand still for a moment, please," Jonathan requested with a chuckle, "I have to put it on."

Zelda complied, holding out her right hand and watching as Jonathan slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. Once done, the two immediately embraced each other again and shared a long kiss.

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Author's Notes: Well, there you have it. This story is finished. But there will be more. At least, that is my intention. Once again, thanks to everyone who tagged along for the ride.

And now, to keep you guys interested in what the future holds, here are previews from two of my upcoming works.

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From Harry Potter and the Heir of Gryffindor (debuting June 6, 2008):

Harry saw the world in the Pensieve around him freeze suddenly, just a few seconds after the famous event had taken place. He first looked out through the destroyed walls of the room and onto the outside world. The night sky was clear, showing all the star twinkling away to their various ends. There was no wind on this night as Harry saw the children in the distant streets going from door to door, a bag in a hand of every child being filled with sweets as they went along. They seemed completely oblivious to the two floor house that had just appeared from out of nowhere or the explosion which tore a huge hole in its second floor. Further in the distance, Harry saw the local village church and the graveyard adjacent to it, where Harry had been just a few minutes ago. It seemed as if what had happened in the house was the only thing of note to have happened on this night.

Looking back into the room, Harry now saw the aftermath of the situation which brought him the fame and the destiny that he never wanted. There was no body of the Dark Lord on the floor; his body seemingly dissolved into thin air when the Killing Curse rebounded into his body, which also cause the walls to blow out. Near the side of the room was a white cradle. The baby boy in it had his eyes tightly shut and his mouth wide open, crying out at sensing an unfamiliar presence in his sight and then at the brief, sharp pain that had crossed his forehead, forever distinguishing him. On the floor next to the crib was the body of a woman lying face down. Her long, think, dark red hair scattered in every direction as her body hit the floor from her quick, painless death. It was a death which she freely accepted in an attempt to save her only child, and it was a sacrifice that worked beyond her wildest hopes in her final moments of life. And standing in the doorway was a six-foot-tall young man with neck-length brown hair and brownish-hazel eyes. Harry could see confusion starting to enter those eyes which only moments before had been filled with anger. His long, thin wand was in his right hand, aiming at where Lord Voldemort was just standing, a Killing Curse had been on his tongue.

Harry then saw the older Geoffrey Gryffindor kneel next to Lily's body. His head was fixed downward, looking at the destruction that Voldemort had wrought upon him. For a short time he was silent, then Harry heard a sharp intake of air from him, a sign that he had begun to cry. Geoff placed his right hand on the floor while his left hand went up to his face, trying to block Harry from seeing him cry. Harry knew that something had happened to Geoff that changed him in ways that Harry couldn't comprehend. He had seen the old Geoffrey Gryffindor; a young, idealistic man who always took the high road and was Dumbledore's Man through and through. Something had happened that had changed him into the Geoffrey Gryffindor he now saw before him; a man who would not let anything stand in between him and his goals, however noble they were. And Harry assumed that they had something to do with this memory.

Finally, Geoff looked up and into Harry's eyes. He saw only pain, grief, and regret in those watery eyes. Geoff knew that the time had come for him to ask something that he thought Harry would never give him if he knew the truth. But it had to be asked for, and he asked for it.

"Harry, can you ever forgive me?" he asked, his voice wavering with the emotions Harry had seen in his eyes, "Can you forgive me for forcing you to endure all these years of hell?"

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From The Legend of Zelda: Dark Apprentice (coming in 2009):

Jonathan took a step back and realized that this battle was taking too long. He had been giving it his all for the past five minutes and knew that he was indeed outclassed. But his opponent was holding back. Jonathan understood why he was doing this, but they were running out of time. At any moment, the dark ritual would begin, destroying the barrier between Hyrule and the Golden Land. And if that happened, all would be lost. Jonathan knew what had to be done. He knew what had to be sacrificed. And he accepted what he needed to do.

He stepped forward again, bringing his shield up and swung his sword at the green-clad teenager in front of him. Link blocked the strike easily as they kept their swords locked together for a few moments.

"Link, you know what you have to do," Jonathan reminded his friend, "You must stop Agahnim at all costs."

"I'm not going to kill you Jonathan," Link replied, "You're my friend. You're on my side."

"Link, you're the only one who can stop Agahnim," Jonathan replied, "And you're going to have to kill me to save Princess Zelda. You have to do this."

And to force the issue, Jonathan began attacking Link more aggressively, leaving openings for Link to counter in where Jonathan usually wouldn't allow. He needed to force Link to make a decision, a decision in which there was only one rational solution. After the fifth strike, Link decided that he needed to live. He took the Master Sword and shoved it forward into a hole in Jonathan's defense.

Jonathan actually felt very little as the sword penetrated his abdomen and came out of his back. He dropped his sword and grabbed the area the sword had penetrated and felt a warm, sticky fluid on his fingers. And as Link removed the sword from his body, Jonathan collapsed to the floor as he felt his grip on life begin to slip away.

"Jonathan, I so sorry," Link apologized to his fallen friend.

"Just go," Jonathan replied softly, "She's in the next room."

Link nodded as he ran off toward the next room. However, before he had left the room, Jonathan heard the other door in the room open.

"JONATHAN! NO!" he heard Zelda scream as he struggled to retain what little life was left in him for this moment. He needed to say goodbye.

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And there you have it. Just remember that these scenes may not appear exactly as they are shown here, as neither of these stories has been completed yet. But the events here are ones that I expect to happen in these stories. Take what you will from that.

Well, that's all for now. I'll see you all again in June. Until then, feel free to enjoy my story.


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